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‘Huge Year Ahead Of Him’: Trainer Desormeaux Bullish On Sham Contender Oviatt Class

Oviatt Class was an apparent “steam horse” in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 5, the “wise guys” bearing down on him at the windows and sending him off at 9-1, less than half his morning line program odds of 20-1.

Paring of his price in part was due to the scratch of 9-5 morning line Juvenile favorite Jack Christopher.

Oviatt Class did finish an eventful fifth, beaten 8 ½ lengths by undefeated Bob Baffert trainee Corniche, a prohibitive favorite to be named Eclipse Award winner as champion 2-year-old male at the 51^st annual Eclipse dinner Feb. 10 at Santa Anita.

One person more disappointed in Oviatt Class than his mutuel backers in the Juvenile was his trainer, Keith Desormeaux, who hopes the son of the A.P. Indy stallion Bernardini makes amends in Saturday's Grade 3 Sham Stakes, the West's first significant offering on the Triple Crown trail.

Oviatt Class has victimized himself with tardy starts or wide trips in each of his five races, including a third by 3 ¾ lengths behind Corniche in the G1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita last Oct. 1, rallying from seventh and last at the half-mile marker.

“Maybe the horse is just not the greatest gate-breaker,” said Desormeaux, who has given his brother, Hall of Fame member and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Kent a leg up in all of the bay colt's starts, “but I don't consider that a problem for him.

“As far as him coming wide, I think that's more due to Kent's style. The horse didn't run his race at Del Mar (in the Juvenile) and I still haven't figured it out.

“We were so excited and pumped up expecting a huge race based on the way he'd been training, and that wasn't only my opinion. He was 20-1 on the morning line and ended up 9-1, so he was a hot horse, an insider's horse, and I think the gamblers were right on, but he didn't produce and I don't have an answer.

“The horse is doing great and I think he's got a huge year ahead of him, so we've taken our time, let him freshen and the Sham seems like a good spot to get it rolling.”

Oviatt Class was bought for $60,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sales and is owned by financial magnate James E. Downey of Newport Beach, Calif. The horse could become another of Keith's burgeoning bargains, already more than doubling his purchase price with earnings of $137,620.

“I met James through a friend,” Keith said. “He had owned horses some 30 years ago and with Oviatt Class, it looks like he's hit a home run in his first at bat on his return.”

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Keith, a regular at Santa Anita in recent years, now also operates in Kentucky and his home state of Louisiana, where this interview was conducted by phone, before he departed for Santa Anita where he will be on hand for the Sham.

“To tell you the truth, I'd prefer to be based at Santa Anita full time,” Keith said, “but the economics necessitates me splitting the stable, and I'm doing the best I can in this manner.”

Little wonder Keith has a fondness for Santa Anita. With Kent in the saddle for his brother, Texas Red won the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Exaggerator the 2016 Santa Anita Derby, before going on to capture the Preakness.

As to the revival of Kent's riding career at age 51 after overcoming a myriad of personal and substance abuse issues, Keith, who turns 55 on Jan. 27, offered this: “Kent's so talented and his ability has always been there.

“It's personal BS that's a problem. He's got to take care of that and I don't have the answers, but the riding ability is God-given and an absolute gift. He's got it working full force right now.

“Hopefully, we can see that on Saturday.”

The Sham goes as race seven of 10 with a 12 noon first post time. Here's the field: Mackinnon, Juan Hernandez, 3-1; Oviatt Class, Kent Desormeaux, 7-2; Newgrange, John Velazquez, 2-1; Rockefeller, Flavien Prat, 8-5; and Degree of Risk, Umberto Rispoli, 12-1.

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Beyond Brilliant, Du Jour Square Off In Santa Anita Mathis Mile

Trainer John Shirreffs' Beyond Brilliant and Bob Baffert's Du Jour head a field of nine sophomores going a mile on turf in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Mathis Mile, one of six graded stakes on an 11-race Opening Day card at The Great Race Place.

In what was the best race of his career, Beyond Brilliant controlled the pace throughout en route to taking the G1 Hollywood Derby at a mile and one eighth on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar. Off at 10-1 in a field of 14, Beyond Brilliant, who was a close third two starts back in the G2 Twilight Derby here on Oct. 31, has now won two out of his last three races—all with Kent Desormeaux, who rides back on Sunday.

A bay colt by Twirling Candy, Beyond Brilliant is owned by Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable LLC and is 9-3-2-2 with earnings of $381,280.

Originally trained by Baffert, Du Jour was sent to trainer Bill Mott to run in the G1 Belmont Derby July 10, a race in which he finished fourth. Subsequently third in the G1 Saratoga Derby Aug. 7, he was most recently a dull eighth as the 9-5 favorite in the ungraded Dueling Downs Derby going 1 5/16 miles on turf Sept. 5 at Kentucky Downs. Following that race, Du Jour was returned to Baffert at Santa Anita and the bay colt by Temple City has a series of six drills, all on Santa Anita's inner training track, for his return.

Twin Creeks Racing's homebred Law Professor comes off a sharp off the pace win in a first condition allowance going one mile on turf Nov. 27 at Del Mar and appears to have found a home on the grass. Trained by Michael McCarthy, this gelding by Constitution earned an 85 Beyer in his most recent start and should get a lively pace to run at on Sunday.

THE GRADE 2 SANTA ANITA MATHIS MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGTHS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 7 of 11 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

None Above the Law—Joe Bravo—124
Tarantino—Juan Hernandez—120
Airman—Umberto Rispoli—120
Zoffarelli—Drayden Van Dyke–122
Cane Creek Road—Victor Espinoza—120
Flashiest—Abel Cedillo—122
Du Jour—Flavien Prat–122
Beyond Brilliant—Kent Desormeaux—124
Law Professor—Jose Ortiz—120

One of six graded stakes on Sunday, the Santa Anita Mathis Mile has been carded as the seventh race on an 11-race Opening Day program which gets underway at 11 a.m. Admission gates open at 9 a.m.

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Resurgent Kent Desormeaux Voted Jockey Of The Week

Veteran jockey Kent Desormeaux closed the Del Mar Bing Crosby meet on a high note by winning two graded stakes during the track's turf festival. His achievements earned the title of Jockey of the Week for Nov. 22 through Nov. 28. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

The holiday weekend card featured seven stakes races on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Riding for trainer Phil D'Amato on Friday, Desormeaux was aboard the stretch-running Say the Word for the first time in the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup. Say the Word was last in the field of seven for the first mile of the 1 1/2-mile contest for 3-year-olds and up. Desormeaux swung Say the Word to the outside at the top of the stretch and in a drive to the wire overtook his stablemate Acclimate to win by a length in 2:27.62. The win was Desormeaux's first in the Hollywood Turf Cup.

Trainer John Shirreffs gave a leg up to Desormeaux on Beyond Brilliant in Saturday's G1 Hollywood Derby. In the field of 14, Desormeaux was riding Beyond Brilliant for the third time. From an inside post, the duo made every pole a winning one finishing the nine furlong test over Santin by a neck in 1:48.84.

“All the credit for this win goes to the barn,” said Desormeaux to the Del Mar publicity office. “They've done wonders with this horse the past month. When I rode him last time (10/31) at Santa Anita, he was a handful to control. Today he was easy.”

The victory was the first for Desormeaux in the Hollywood Derby. He has 87 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth most of all riders.

After a slow start to the meet, Hall of Famer Desormeaux came on strong to finish 4th in the Del Mar standings with 10 wins and $1,153,196 in purses.

Desormeaux outpolled Tyler Gaffalione who was the leading rider in wins for the week, Jose Lezcano who won three stakes races, Jose Ortiz with two Grade 1 stakes and one Grade 3, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. who won four stakes races.

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Desormeaux Back ‘In The Old Zone,’ Agent Says

Tony Matos has been a jockey agent for most of his 77 years. He's been the representative for the winning riders in the Kentucky Derby on six occasions – Angel Cordero (Cannonade, 1974 and Bold Forbes, 1976), Laffit Pincay (Swale, 1984), Kent Desormeaux (Real Quiet, 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus, 2000), and Victor Espinoza (War Emblem, 2002).

And Matos has this to say about Desormeaux, with whom he was reunited earlier this year: “He's riding just as well, maybe better, than he was when I had him and he won the two Kentucky Derbies.”

When athletes are having great success, the phrase “In the zone” is often applied. Desormeaux, 51, has won eight races in five days the most recent being the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. He's “In the old zone” – in terms of age and with the same skill he displayed decades earlier en route to the Hall of Fame.

“Even though he's 51, he works out and keeps himself fit,” Matos said. “When I took him back (from a suspension incurred here last year), I could see that his attitude was good and he's just kept getting better.”

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