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Silver State Rolls To Fifth Consecutive Win In $1-Million Oaklawn Handicap

With six horses spread across the track at the eighth pole and a million dollars up for grabs, Saturday's Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap looked to be almost anyone's race. But Silver State was going the best of all and drew off for a half-length victory under Ricardo Santana Jr., winning for the fifth consecutive time for trainer Steve Asmussen but making it a graded stakes first for the Hard Spun 4-year-old owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing.

Sent away at 9-2 odds, Silver State covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.56 on a track upgraded to fast after being listed as good much of the day. He paid $11.40 for the win, his sixth in 10 career starts.

Todd Pletcher-trained Fearless, coming off a G2 victory in the Gulfstream Park Mile, finished second, with 9-5 favorite Express Train, who shipped in from Southern California for trainer John Shirreffs, a length back in third in the field of eight older horses. Pacesetter Warrior's Charge was fourth.

“We've always loved his talent level,” Asmussen said of Silver State. “The five-race win streak and putting it all together against such a talented field today, significant race, extremely pleased with him. The horse has been training really well. He's figured out winning. I think what we saw in the two races here previously, he chose to win. They were very competitive. Watching the races, just like today, I think that's made all the difference in him.”

Silver State was coming off a neck win in the $500,000 Essex Handicap and prior to that won the Fifth Season Stakes by a nose – both this year at Oaklawn. He began his streak with a seven-length allowance win last October at Keeneland, then added a November allowance/optional claiming race at Churchill Downs.

In the Oaklawn Handicap, Silver State carried 118 pounds, four fewer than highweighted Express Train.

Breaking from the rail, Silver State saved ground most of the trip racing in mid-pack as Warrior's Charge set fractions of :22.73, :47.06 and 1:11.67.

Santana tipped Silver State five wide into the stretch, and after passing the mile marker in 1:37.23, there were six runners within about a length of each other. Silver State emerged from the pack and went on to victory.

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With The Goal of Winning 7,000 Races, Pino is Back for Another Year

When Mario Pino began riding way back in 1977, he figured he'd stick around for a few years and then go off and do something else. Weight was an issue and he wasn't sure that he had the desire to keep grinding away. Forty-four years later, Pino, 59, resumed his career last week at Gulfstream and is determined to plug away until he gets his 7,000th win. He needs 39 more winners to reach that milestone, something only nine jockeys have ever achieved.

“I'm just 39 away and that's why I am coming back,” he said. “I want to see if I can do it. It's a goal of mine and I am really close to doing it. I'm still healthy, I feel good and I love riding horses.”

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Pino has been a fixture on the Mid-Atlantic circuit since he rode his first horse at Penn National. He has ridden some good horses, most notably Grade I winner Hard Spun (Danzig). He finished second aboard him in the 2006 GI Kentucky Derby and also paired with him to win the GI King's Bishop S. at Saratoga.

But his career has mostly been about perseverance. Year in and year out, he showed up at places like Laurel, Delaware Park, Colonial Downs and Presque Isle Downs and the wins followed. In 2001, he won 297 races and followed that up with 285 winners the next year. In 2016, he moved past Hall of Famer Jorge Velasquez to become the 10th winningest rider of all time.

“The wins started to add up and I started to get into the history of horse racing,” Pino said. “Considering how many great jockeys there have been, it was incredible to me that I was 10th all time. I just kept going and everything kept snowballing.”

He needs just 194 wins to move into sixth place all time, but he doesn't see that happening. In recent years, Pino has settled on a routine that limits his chances of winning races. He doesn't ride in the afternoons in the winter and instead gallops horses for Wesley Ward. He starts off his year at Gulfstream in the spring and then heads to Presque Isle in the summer. When that meet is done, he goes back to Florida and gears up to do more of the same the next year.

Every time Pino thinks of retiring, Ward is among those who encourage him to come back for another year.

“I was thinking of calling it a day,” Pino said. “I spoke to Wesley about that and he said that, being so close to 7,000, I should keep going. He said that if I didn't, I'd always look back and think that I should have kept going to get to 7,000. I'm going to push myself to get there.”

Soon to be 60, Pino is among a group of riders who seem intent on proving that this doesn't have to be a young man's game. Perry Outz is still winning races at age 66. Jon Court is 60 and is going strong. Then, of course, there is Mike Smith. As in demand as any rider in the sport, he is 55.

“You see that jockeys are pushing themselves to last longer and one of the reasons is better nutrition and that they know they have to take care of themselves physically,” Pino said. “These guys who are lasting longer were all successful earlier in their careers and prolonged their career because they love what they are doing and they're still good at it. If you take care of yourself physically and mentally, you can keep going. It's the horses that do the running. If you take care of yourself, you can keep riding.

“Physically, I am in better condition now than when I was at 30,” Pino said. “Even though I might not be riding as many horses, I always try to be physically prepared. If you talk to any athlete who is getting older, when they get older they work out more, prepare more and take care of their bodies more. When you are younger, you take those things for granted.”

Pino won only 21 races in 2020, which had a lot to do with the Presque Isle meet. It is normally 100 days, but was limited to 50 last year because of the coronavirus. This year, the track, which opens July 5, is scheduled to operate for only 52 dates. Pino said that if he gets off to a good start in Florida he may decide to stick things out at Gulfstream.

Pino may or may not get to the 7,000 mark by the end of the year. He says he will retire when he gets to 7,000. That may or may not mean that he will have to return in 2022 to achieve his goals.

In the meantime, he will just do what he's been doing since he was 16. There may not be any graded stakes wins in his future and he won't battle it out for leading rider anywhere. That's fine by him. He's got 39 winners left in him. He feels confident about that.

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Like Father, Like Son for Danon Smash in Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Danon Smash (Jpn) finally broke through at the highest level with a neck defeat of boom mare Resistencia (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) in Chukyo's G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen on Sunday. The Danox Inc. colourbearer followed in his sire's hoofprints, who captured the 1200-metre grass feature in 2013.

Sent off at 5-1, the Takayuki Yasuda trainee assumed position off the fence near the back of the field as the 2020 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Mozu Superflare (Speightstown) rocketed straight to the front. That rival remained glued to the fence and set sharp fractions of :22.90 and :45.60 despite the yielding going while on an uncontested lead. Winding up for his run, Danon Smash began to make encouraging progress, cut between Resistencia and a rival at the 200-metre mark and found his way to the line a neck on top.

Group 1 winner Resistencia, favoured at 9-5, spun fairly wide into the stretch, appeared to briefly struggle with the deep ground as the rain continued, before gamely picking up and holding for second. Indy Champ (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}), who had taken over from Mozu Superflare briefly nearer the fence was a neck back in third. Mozu Superflare hung on for fifth.

“I knew that the ground condition was going to be the key factor but I decided not to make any plan and let the horse race where he wants to,” said pilot Yuga Kawada. “We were able to race while eyeing Resistencia in the front. He responded really well at the fourth corner and, although there was a long duel (with the race favorite) at the stretch, he showed his strength at the end. Last year's result (10th) was very disappointing so I'm

really glad he was able to register his first Group 1 title in Japan.”

A potential return to Hong Kong for a start in the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize on Apr. 25 is a possibility for Danon Smash. Resistencia also holds an entry for that Sha Tin feature.

As a juvenile, Danon Smash won two of four starts including the Momiji S., but saved his first group win for the G3 Keihan Hai S. in November of his 3-year-old season. Among his starts as a 4-year-old, the entire ran fourth in the 2019 Takamatsunomiya Kinen and later that season was third in the G1 Sprinters S. in September of 2019. Last term, he saluted the judge four times in seven starts, with a first in the G2 Sankei Sho Centaur S. followed by a runner-up performance in the Sprinters S. and he broke through on foreign soil with a Group 1 win in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin on Dec. 13. Sunday's victory was his 6-year-old bow.

Pedigree Notes

Danon Smash is one of five Group 1 winners and 17 group winners for rising sire star Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), who is in the process of assuming the Shadai Stallion Station kingpin mantle after the passing of star sires Deep Impact (Jpn) and King Kamehameha (Jpn). In addition to each winning the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, the father-son duo also share a win apiece in the aforementioned Hong Kong Sprint.

Although GI King Bishop S. hero Hard Spun's broodmare career is not yet well advanced, the son of Danzig already has 23 black-type winners to his credit, with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Haskell Invitational S. victor Good Magic (Curlin) and G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never) representing him at the highest level in addition to the Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner.

His dam, Spinning Wildcat, was plucked for $600,000 by KI Farm out of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2013 in foal to Tapit. That foal was the subsequent winning filly Menuett (Jpn), who saluted over 1600 metres on dirt as a 4-year-old and delivered a filly by Lord Kanaloa as her first foal this spring. Danon Smash is Spinning Wildcat's second foal and one of five winners from five to race. Danon Smash has full-siblings–a juvenile filly and yearling colt who have yet to race, while Spinning Wildcat was covered by Heart's Cry (Jpn) last spring.

Second dam Hollywood Wildcat (Kris S.) was named a champion 3-year-old filly in America and her race record includes three wins out of the top drawer among them the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. At stud, she threw her best runners when crossed with Danzig and his sons, with her star offspring being GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner and sire War Chant (Danzig). Two more of her sons were given places at stud–G2 July S. & MG1SP Ivan Denisovich (Ire) (Danehill) and SW & MGSP Ministers Wild Cat (Deputy Minister). Her best daughter was SW & GSP Double Cat (Storm Cat), while another daughter produced Canadian Classic scorer Danish Dynaformer (Dynaformer).

Sunday, Chukyo, Japan
TAKAMATSUNOMIYA KINEN-G1, ¥253,460,000, Chukyo, 3-28, 4yo/up, 1200mT, 1:09.20, sf.
1–DANON SMASH (JPN), 126, h, 6, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Spinning Wildcat, by Hard Spun
                2nd Dam: Hollywood Wildcat, by Kris S.
                3rd Dam: Miss Wildcatter, by Mr.Prospector
O-Danox Inc.; B-K. I. Farm (Jpn); T-Takayuki Yasuda; J-Yuga
Kawada. ¥133,822,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-HK, 23-11-3-1.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: F.
2–Resistencia (Jpn), 121, f, 4, Daiwa Major (Jpn)–
Malacostumbrada (Arg), by Lizard Island. O-Carrot Farm;
B- Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥53,092,000.
3–Indy Champ (Jpn), 126, h, 6, Stay Gold (Jpn)–Will Power (Jpn),
by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm
(Jpn); ¥33,546,000.
Margins: NK, NK, 3/4. Odds: 5.00, 1.90, 5.30.
Also Ran: Travesura (Jpn), Mozu Superflare, Sound Ciara (Jpn), Eighteen Girl (Jpn), Maltese Diosa (Jpn), Seiun Kosei (Jpn), Miki Brillante (Jpn), Daimei Fuji (Jpn), Danon Fantasy (Jpn), Astra Emblem (Jpn), Lauda Sion (Jpn), Katsuji (Jpn), A Will a Way (Jpn), Right on Cue (Jpn), Red en Ciel (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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Silver State Chasing Fourth Straight Victory In Saturday’s Essex Handicap

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State is the 2-1 program favorite for the $500,000 Essex Handicap for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the Essex, which goes as the seventh of 12 races, is 3:08 p.m. (Central). The Essex is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 17.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Silver State is bidding for his fourth consecutive victory after the son of Hard Spun fell off the Triple Crown trail following a seventh-place finish in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) last March at Fair Grounds. Silver State resurfaced last fall and recorded two allowance victories in Kentucky before capturing the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes by a nose Jan. 23 at Oaklawn in his 2021 debut.

“He's as beautiful as a horse can be,” Asmussen said. “For the Winchells and the Hortons to show the patience they did with him last year, they deserve to have a huge 4-year-old campaign with him and we expect it to happen.”

Among six other horses entered are Rated R Superstar and Night Ops, who won the Essex in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Rated R Superstar wheels back after finishing fifth behind Dubai World Cup-bound Mystic Guide in the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses Feb. 27 at Oaklawn. Rated R Superstar was making his first start since being claimed for $50,000 out of a Jan. 30 victory at Oaklawn by four-time local leading owner Danny Caldwell.

Night Ops finished third, beaten 3 ¾ lengths in the 1-mile Fifth Season, for Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. The Fifth Season marked the first start for Night Ops since winning the $100,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) July 5 at Prairie Meadows. Night Ops opened his 2020 campaign with a third-place finish in the first division of the Fifth Season.

“It was every bit as good as it was last year in that exact race,” Cox said. “I thought it was a good race off the layoff. He had been off a while. I thought he showed up and ran his race. Probably needs a little more ground and maybe a little bit better setup and, hopefully, he'll come back into form.”

The Essex also lured two starters from the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park in Tax (10th) and Harpers First Ride (12th).

Tax, a multiple graded stakes winner of almost $1 million for trainer Danny Gargan, returns to Hot Springs after finishing fifth in last year's Oaklawn Handicap.

Multiple stakes winner Harpers First Ride will be making his first start for Robertino Diodoro, Oaklawn's leading trainer last year, after being privately purchased before the Pegasus. Harpers First Ride (10 of 18 overall) has recorded two workouts at Oaklawn leading up to his local debut.

“He ran real bad, but he had some issues that came up that we fixed,” Diodoro said, referring to the Pegasus. “I don't know how he'll stack up with these guys, but there's good form on him. He's a nice horse.”

The projected seven-horse Essex field from the rail out: Uphold, Fernando De La Cruz to ride, 113 pounds, 20-1 on the morning line; Harpers First Ride, David Cohen, 119, 4-1; Rated R Superstar, Ramon Vazquez, 114, 12-1; Tax, Joel Rosario, 120, 3-1; Silver State, Ricardo Santana Jr., 118, 2-1; Green Light Go, Francisco Arrieta, 116, 6-1; and Night Ops, Javier Castellano, 118, 3-1.

Also on Saturday's card is another stakes race for older horses, the $150,000 Temperence Hill at 1 ½ miles. The 3-1 program favorite is You're to Blame for trainer Ron Moquett and owner Staton Flurry of Hot Springs

The 7-2 second choice in the program is Campaign, who was runner-up, beaten a neck, in last year's inaugural running for Southern California-based trainer John Sadler. Campaign was the 3-2 favorite in the 2020 Temperence Hill.

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