Month: January 2023

Following his powerful victory in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses Jan. 14 at Oaklawn, Ginobili returned Tuesday to his Southern California base to begin preparing for his yet-to-be determined next start, trainer Peter Miller said Thursday afternoon.

Miller said Ginobili will be considered for the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 18 at Oaklawn and races this winter and early spring in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates). The Saudi Arabia race would be a sprint Miller said, with the UAE race either a sprint or at a mile.

“We're deciding between the Razorback and the Middle East,” Miller said.

Ginobili received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 96 for his four-length Fifth Season victory under Ricardo Santana Jr. Ginobili ($5.80) covered the mile over a fast track in 1:37.35 as the 9-5 favorite in the 10-horse field.

Following the Fifth Season, Santana, an eight-time Oaklawn riding champion, said he believed Ginobili was only “75 percent” fit for the race. The 6-year-old Munnings gelding was making just his second start in a little more than year.

“That's a scary proposition,” Miller said. “I hope he's right. We were tickled over how he ran and how he came back. Certainly, the Razorback makes a lot of sense, timing wise. I imagine there will be one or two new shooters, but I would imagine it's roughly the same bunch.”

In his first start for Miller, Ginobili finished second, beaten a head by stablemate Get Her Number, in a Nov. 20 allowance sprint at Del Mar. It marked Ginobili's first race in almost a year following a physical setback, Miller said. Ginobili had concluded his 2021 campaign with a sixth-place finish in the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) in December at Aqueduct.

The Fifth Season was redemption for the horse's ownership group, Slam Dunk Racing, after Ginobili ran poorly in two allowance races (finishing fifth and seventh) late in the 2020 Oaklawn meeting. Ginobili, as the 4-5 favorite, was beaten 9 ½ lengths in the first start, a 6-furlong race that marked his first outside California. Santa Anita, where Ginobili had made his previous two starts, both stakes, was shuttered in the spring of 2020 because of the coronavirus.

“We think he's a different horse now,” Nick Cosato, Slam Dunk's managing partner, said in the Larry Snyder Winner's Circle following the Fifth Season. “He's healthy. He had some time off. I think he got a little bit sour when he was here and it wasn't the track itself. It was just the way he was doing. Now, he's in good form, and I mean we saw the real Ginobili today.”

The Fifth Season was Ginobili's fourth victory from 17 starts and bumped his career earnings to $561,050. It was his second stakes victory. Ginobili recorded his biggest career victory to date in the $200,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at 7 furlongs in August 2021 at Del Mar. He also ran second in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in November 2021 at Del Mar. Ginobili was purchased for just $35,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Nominations to the Razorback close Feb. 3.

The post ‘A Different Horse Now’: Razorback, Middle East Trip Among Options For Runaway Oaklawn Winner Ginobili appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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An evenly matched field of six is entered in the $150,000 American Beauty Stakes for older female sprinters Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Probable post time for the American Beauty, which goes as the sixth of 10 races, is 2:55 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:30 p.m.

The projected American Beauty field from the rail out:

1. Connie K, Jon Court to ride, 122 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line;
2. Hot and Sultry, David Cabrera, 122, 9-5;
3. I'm the Boss of Me, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 8-1;
4. Lisette, Mickaelle Michel, 115, 20-1;
5. Sarah Harper, Rafael Bejarano, 122, 7-5; and
6. Perfect Happiness, Nik Juarez, 122, 7-2.

Program favorite Sarah Harper is seeking her first career stakes victory. Trained by Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, Sarah Harper was an entry-level allowance winner sprinting at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting and exits a runner-up finish behind Pretty Birdie in the $150,000 Poinsettia Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs Dec. 17 at Oaklawn. She finished seventh in last year's American Beauty, but was beaten just 2 ¼ lengths after leading much of the race.

“We know that these are pretty closely matched horses, a couple of these in there,” Moquett said. “I think it depends on who gets the best trip. I think we're definitely one that you should consider and also show a lot of respect to (Alex) Lieblong's horse (Hot and Sultry) and also the (Chris) Hartman horse (Perfect Happiness).”

After winning the Poinsettia with Pretty Birdie, high-percentage trainer Norm Casse is scheduled send out Hot and Sultry for her stakes debut. The speedy 4-year-old daughter of Speightster races for prominent Arkansas owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong.

A $475,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase in 2020, Hot and Sultry was a flashy maiden special weight sprint winner last season at Oaklawn and returned to finish second behind Grade 3 winner Yuugiri in a third-level allowance sprint Dec. 30 at Oaklawn. It marked Hot and Sultry's first start since a one-mile entry-level allowance victory July 1 at Churchill Downs and her first for Casse, who began training for the Lieblongs last year. Hot and Sultry had previously been with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

“We're very excited about her,” said Casse, who is 3 for 8 at the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting. “Not really sure exactly what she's best at, if she's a sprinter or a router. I think that the jury is still out on that. But this race came up and it just feels like a really good chance to hit the board in a stake with her, possibly win. I don't know what we'll do forward, after this race, but this was a really good opportunity.”

Two-time local winner Perfect Happiness exits a third-place finish in the $100,000 Pan Zareta Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs Dec. 3 at Fair Grounds for Hartman, Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2015. Hartman claimed Perfect Happiness for $62,500 last March at Oaklawn. She had finished a troubled ninth in her previous start, the 2022 American Beauty, for two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.

Connie K returns to open company after finishing second, beaten three-quarters of a length by the promising Summer Shoes, in a Dec. 30 allowance sprint at Oaklawn for Arkansas-bred females. Connie K, a 5-year-old daughter of dominant Arkansas stallion Street Strategy, was a front-running winner of the $150,000 Downthedustyroad Stakes for state-breds last March at Oaklawn for trainer Randy Morse, who also bred and races the mare in partnership with Randy Patterson.

I'm the Boss of Me finished fourth in the Poinsettia for trainer Greg Compton, an Arkansas native who is seeking his first career Oaklawn stakes victory. Lisette finished sixth in her last start, a Jan. 14 allowance sprint at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Lukas has 49 career Oaklawn stakes victories.

The American Beauty is the first of three sprint stakes for older females this year at Oaklawn, a series that continues with the $150,000 Carousel Feb. 25 and the inaugural $250,000 Matron March 31. The Carousel and Matron are also six furlongs.

The post Oaklawn: ‘Pretty Closely Matched’ Field Of Six For Saturday’s American Beauty Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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