Tag: hot springs stakes

No Foul Claim, Inquiry or DQ, Yet Geroux Suspended for Winning Oaklawn Ride

Jockey Florent Geroux has been suspended two days by the Oaklawn Park stewards for “careless riding while allowing his mount to cause interference multiple times” after a winning ride in the Apr. 1 $200,000 Hot Springs S. that did not involve a foul claim, posted inquiry, or a disqualification.

The penalty was handed down in a Monday ruling. Eyeing Clover (Lookin At Lucky) scored by a length as the 9-5 second choice in Saturday's eighth race for owner Ten Strike Racing and trainer Brad Cox.

Eyeing Clover, who was racing with blinkers removed for the first time in his four-race career, caught a flyer out of post two, but then got outgunned for the lead by two outside rivals. Geroux conceded the top spot to save ground, but landed in a tight spot at the fence on the heels of the horse running second. He then shifted outward and appeared to briefly affect the momentum of the two trailers in the five-horse race.

Oaklawn announcer Jim Byers described the trouble as Eyeing Clover having to “steady sharply around that club turn.” The Equibase chart stated the colt “fell back off the leader early in the first turn, [was] rank [and] fell back soon after.”

Eyeing Clover briefly bumped with a rival just prior to splitting horses entering the far turn. In upper stretch, he drifted slightly prior to straightening out approaching the short-stretch wire.

The stewards specified Saturday, Apr. 8, and Friday, Apr. 14, as the dates Geroux must sit out, adding that, “During the term of his suspension, if named to ride in designated stakes races he may ride in them, but then must serve a replacement day of suspension for each day that he rides in a designated stake.”

It is unclear if Geroux will be appealing. A phone message left with his agent, John Panagot, did not yield a return call prior to deadline for this story.

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Fan-Favorite Whitmore to be Honored on Oaklawn’s Whitmore Day

A familiar face will be leading the post parade Saturday for the GIII Whitmore S.–the race's namesake. Oaklawn announced in early September that Mar. 19 would be christened as 'Whitmore Day,' renamed the Hot Springs S. after the gelding, and even renamed his longtime home at the track, formerly the Count Fleet barn, after him.

Saturday's script calls for Whitmore to follow the field from the barn area to the track, then head into the horseshoe-shaped hedge infield winner's circle, traditionally used for stakes contests, as the horses are being saddled in the paddock. Whitmore, ridden by Laura Moquett, will then lead the post parade for the Whitmore S.

“I'm running horses that day and none of them are Whitmore, but at least I get to lead him over and all that,” said trainer Ron Moquett. “That's the thing. That's what this sport is about. I don't care if anybody knows me, but I'm so humbled that they know him.”

Fans attending Saturday will receive commemorative Whitmore baseball cards as they enter, and free Whitmore T-shirts, all while supplies last, can be redeemed on the north end of the first floor following the second race.

The post Fan-Favorite Whitmore to be Honored on Oaklawn’s Whitmore Day appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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C Z Rocket Ends Whitmore’s Hot Springs Streak; Longshot Carlos L. Takes Temperence Hill

C Z Rocket denied 8-5 favorite Whitmore his fifth victory in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn on Saturday when he got up in the final jump under Florent Geroux to prevail by a neck in a final time of 1:09.04 for six furlongs over a fast track. Flagstaff finished third.

“I didn't think we would be behind Whitmore, but it kind of worked out,” said trainer Peter Miller, who had claimed the City Zip gelding last year for $40,000 at the Hot Springs, Ark., track before he went on to win multiple graded stakes in Southern California.

“Might have been a blessing in disguise to track Whitmore,” Miller added. “He's such a great horse, Whitmore, and so is C Z Rocket. I just can't say enough about both of these horses. My congratulations to the connections of Whitmore on having this horse ready to rock and roll. Going down the stretch, I thought we were going to get there. It was tough. He was a little further back than I'd thought he would be, honestly. I did see pace was hot. Flo (Florent Geroux) knows what he's doing. Horse runs really well for him. Pace was fast, so we were where we were supposed to be and it worked out.”

C Z Rocket, who races for Madaket Stables LLC, Gary Barber and Tom Kagele, improved his record to 10-2-2 in 24 starts and has now earned $1,011,641. He returned $7.20, $3.40 and $2.40 as the 5-2 second choice.

In the Temperence Hill Stakes, 47-1 longshot Carlos L. went gate to wire to win the 1 ½ mile race by a neck over Lone Rock under jockey Alex Canchari. Tenfold, the 2-1 favorite was third.

The 5-year-old Hold Me Back horse has now won seven of 16 starts and earned $262,999 for trainer Mac Robertson and owners Good Friends II, LLC.

The post C Z Rocket Ends Whitmore’s Hot Springs Streak; Longshot Carlos L. Takes Temperence Hill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Moquett Emotional After Whitmore Named Champion Sprinter Of 2020

Oaklawn's top male sprinter last year can now be called the best nationally, too.

The ultra-popular Whitmore, a seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner co-owned and trained by Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, was named the country's champion male sprinter of 2020 during the 50th annual Eclipse Awards ceremony Thursday night.

Whitmore received 132 first-place votes from members of the three consolidated voting blocs – Equibase, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Vekoma finished second with 83, followed by three other 2020 Oaklawn-raced horses in Volatile (16), Charlatan (four) and C Z Rocket (three).

Three finalists in each division were announced Jan. 16, established through a 10-5-1 point system from earlier voting. Eclipse Award winners were determined solely by first-place votes.

Whitmore compiled a 3-2-0 mark from seven starts last year, punctuating his resume with a dominating victory in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

The gelding's other two victories came at Oaklawn, his winter home since 2016. He won the $150,000 Hot Springs Stakes in March for a record fourth consecutive year and the $350,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) in April for a record third time.

“I think the reaction that we get from the rest of the people kind of mimics how we feel all the time about him,” Moquett said Friday morning. “It's like everybody's giving him credit, loving him or whatever. But Arkansas people kind of already thought that he was a champion, regardless, and it's kind of like the rest of world got to see what we've been thinking for three years.”

Whitmore is training at Oaklawn in preparation for his scheduled 8-year-old debut in the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes March 13. Whitmore's major spring objective, Moquett said, is again the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 10. Both races are 6 furlongs.

“Still the plan,” Moquett said. “He's going to run a mile and a half at Oaklawn.”

Moquett received one first-place vote for outstanding trainer. But Whitmore, his prized gelding, had more than enough support to grab his first Eclipse Award after finishing eighth, second and third in the previous three runnings of the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“He's a cool horse,” Moquett said.

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