hollis | Horse Racing Free Tips

It took a track record to topple a track record holder.

Hollis lowered the 5 ½-furlong mark in Friday's eighth race at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort in Hot Springs, Ark., rolling to a 4 ½-length victory under perennial local riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. Racing over a fast track, Hollis stopped the clock in 1:02.17 to eclipse the previous record of 1:02.60 – a time converted from fifths of a second – set by Sis Pleasure Fager in a Feb. 15, 1984, allowance race for fillies and mares.

Friday's race, a conditioned allowance for 3-year-olds and up, marked the return of 1-5 favorite Nashville, who finished second in his first start in almost a year after setting the six-furlong track record on the Breeders' Cup undercard at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in November 2020.

Nashville was no match for Hollis ($11.20), who tracked the front-runner from the start on the outside before seizing control in the upper stretch. Hollis, under 120 pounds, broke the record with a strong southerly breeze pushing temperatures into the mid-70s, unseasonably warm for early December. He received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 109, which equals the fourth-highest figure in the country this year in races up to a mile on the main track, according to Daily Racing Form.

“Hollis is a very special horse in our barn,” John Ortiz, the 6-year-old gelding's trainer, said Friday night. “He's got a personality like no other. We call him, 'The Scrapper.' We call him, 'The Boxer.' He wants to be in a fight. He'll take the fight to his competition. That's what my instructions were to Ricardo. When he's comfortable and you see Nashville take a breather, that's when you go up and join him. I know Ricardo was pumped. He said to me, 'Don't worry Johnny, we still had a lot left in the tank.' Good news.”

Santana, an eight-time Oaklawn riding champion, had ridden Nashville in his previous three starts, including the $125,000 Perryville Stakes for 3-year-olds when he set Keeneland's six-furlong track record (1:07.89) after sailing through a :21.54 opening quarter and :43.87 half-mile. Friday's splits were :21.81, :44.99, and :56.13 for 5 furlongs.

“It was pretty much what I thought would happen – seeing Nashville up in the front and us stalking him from the outside,” Ortiz said. “Just where we were, the fractions were perfect for Hollis. Sitting just off that pace was the best thing. To be honest with you, when you run Hollis, you're always in for an exciting race. You see in his record, he's dead-heated, he's won by a nose, he's lost by a nose and he's missing a nostril. It's always fun to win these races because he's really never disappointed us. We knew we were sending a horse that was 300 percent ready.”

Ortiz trains Hollis for William Simon (WSS Racing) and Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway (4 G Racing). On behalf of the Arkansas owners, Ortiz claimed the son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense for $40,000 May 25, 2020, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Hollis is a half-brother to Grade 1-raced Lady Lilly, a daughter of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist who finished fifth in the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies last season at Oaklawn.

[Story Continues Below]

Hollis has proven to be a home-run claim, bankrolling $334,553 in 15 starts for his new connections and winning stakes races on dirt and turf. He was gelded shortly after being claimed. Hollis had previously sold for $200,000 and $120,000 at public auction.

“The pedigree was part of it,” Ortiz said of the claim. “I was the only one in on the horse. He was a pretty decent sprinter and we like sprinters. He was still intact and once we took the weight off, he really leaned out, literally, and became a much more focused horse to do what he likes to do, which is run really fast.”

Ortiz said Hollis will be considered for upcoming stakes races at Oaklawn, along with Mucho, another hard-knocking older stakes-winning sprinter he trains for Simon and the Gasaways (husband and wife). Owing to a Christmas gathering with family, Ortiz said he watched Friday's race from his Lexington, Ky., home.

Hollis' ninth victory in 22 career starts bumped his earnings to $420,333. He was also an allowance winner at 5 ½ furlongs last April at Oaklawn, covering the distance in 1:03.65 over a fast track.

Nashville was making his first start since being beaten for the first time in the $300,000 G1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds Dec. 26, 2020, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and co-owners WinStar Farm and China Horse Club.

Nashville had a small ankle chip removed following the Malibu and suffered a minor physical setback last summer, said Elliott Walden, who is WinStar's president/CEO and racing manager. Nashville was making his fifth career start Friday. He won his first three starts by a combined 24 ¾ front-running lengths.

The post Hollis Sets Track Record In Upset Win At Oaklawn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Robert D. Bone's Completed Pass is a neck away from being a two-time champion of the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint.

Saturday on the Preakness day card at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., the 7-year-old gelding will attempt to get back to the winner's circle in the five-furlong race when he starts in it for the third time. Named for the late Hall of Fame sportscaster Jim McKay, the Turf Sprint is for 3-year-olds and up.

After winning the Jim McKay by a length in 2019, Completed Pass lost the 2020 version by a neck to Hollis, who is also entered this year.

Trained by Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland's leading trainer for the past four years, Completed Pass is an Indiana-bred son of Pass Rush that has won two of three career starts at Pimlico, Overall, he has four wins, three seconds and two thirds in 12 career starts on grass.

In his only start this year, Completed Pass won the King Leatherbury – a race named for Maryland's legendary and still active Hall of Fame horseman – on April 24th. He was ridden in that race by Angel Cruz, who will be on board Completed Pass for the fifth straight time on Saturday.

“He came back and ran a really nice race the last time,” Gonzalez said. “He proved he still can compete with the top ones.”

Completed Pass definitely has the home course advantage with his two wins in three starts on the grass at Pimlico.

“I do believe it is an advantage because he knows the course and he likes the track,” Gonzalez said. “He proved he loves it.”

The biggest obstacle facing Completed Pass could be the post. He will start from the far outside 13 post position.

Boldor, trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has a win and a second in three career starts on grass. In his last start, on turf course labeled good April 155 at Keeneland, Boldor finished second in a 5-½ furlong allowance race.

A 5-year-old son of Munnings, Boldor has done most of his running on dirt. In 13 starts on dirt, he has four wins, two seconds and a third. Six of his starts have been on off tracks where he has two wins and two seconds.

“He tries hard every time,” Asmussen's assistant Scott Blasi said. “Hopefully, he gets a good trip.”

Ricardo Santana Jr. will ride Boldor from Post 1. He is the fourth different rider the gelding will have this year.

Also entered for the Jim McKay are 8-year-old Dubini, based at Parx Racing with six wins in 24 starts on the grass; Ron Moquett-trained Firecrow, who has shown speed on the dirt but is winless in two starts on grass; first-time turf starter Grab the Gold, another that has shown speed on the dirt; Hollis, who gets the services of three-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.; Laurel Park based 7-year-old Jammer, a winner of five of 22 career starts on grass; 7-year-old Love You Much, winless in his last seven starts over two years; Push To Start, making his grass debut after two wins and three thirds on dirt; Robey's Boy, fifth in the King Leatherbury in his second start of 2021; So Street, a non-factor when finishing eighth in the King Leatherbury; The Connector, winner of four of nine turf tries; and The Critical Way, a winner of three of nine starts at the Jim McKay distance.

The post Familiar Foes Completed Pass, Hollis Clash Again In Jim McKay Turf Sprint appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post