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Mucho Added New Dimension With Close Second In Oaklawn’s Fifth Season

Mucho is again training at his home base, The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Ky., but trainer John Ortiz said the horse is under consideration for a return trip to Oaklawn for stakes action later this month or in March.

The speedy Mucho was already an allowance winner sprinting at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting before finishing second, beaten a neck by Rated R Superstar, in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses Jan. 15. The one-mile Fifth Season marked the two-turn debut for Mucho, a 6-year-old son of Blame who races for former Walmart executive William Simon (WSS Racing) and Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway of Little Rock, Ark. (4 G Racing).

Mucho shot to the front in the Fifth Season and turned back challenges from Thomas Shelby and Concert Tour before finally being overtaken on the outside in the shadow of the wire by millionaire Rated R Superstar.

“This was our test,” Ortiz said. “It was exactly what we wanted to see. We wanted to see if he could do the two turns. Now, I think we've got a good sprinter and you have a good two-turn horse. Honestly, we get to play a game with him and see where he takes us.”

It could be back to Oaklawn, Ortiz said, for the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 12 or the $200,000 Whitmore (G3) at six furlongs March 19. Both races are for older horses.

Mucho returned to the work tab Tuesday at The Thoroughbred Center, covering a half-mile in :50. Ortiz's stable is split between Oaklawn and The Thoroughbred Center training facility.

“He comes here, runs and then goes back,” Ortiz said. “It's just a little bit quieter up there for him. We're not planning on running him very often. We just want to make sure we pick and choose our spots this year. We've got bigger goals. We've got to get to the Breeders' Cup with him.”

Ortiz noted Mucho finished just two lengths behind 2021 Oaklawn debut winner Aloha West in the $250,000 Phoenix Stakes (G2) Oct. 8 at Keeneland, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” event. After finishing second in the Phoenix, Aloha West returned to win the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

This year's Breeders' Cup is at Keeneland, which is about 12 miles from The Thoroughbred Center. Also on the table is the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Ortiz said.

“Two turns, short stretch, just like here,” Ortiz said. “That's probably going to be a good target. Breeders' Cup Day is where we want to be with him. We were very close last year. We finished third behind Aloha West and we opted out of going to the Breeders' Cup because of the logistics. But this year, we're going to be running from our backyard, from our stall, and I think home-track advantage here. I think we'll be very competitive. But that's the goal. Not just with him, but with many horses from our barn.”

On behalf of WSS and 4 G, Ortiz claimed Mucho for $80,000 in November 2020 at Churchill Downs. Mucho was an allowance winner at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting for his new connections and captured the $100,000 Challedon Stakes July 31 at Pimlico. Mucho has a 7-8-3 record from 30 lifetime starts and earnings of $716,729.

The Razorback closed with 38 nominations. Post positions will be drawn Monday. It is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) at 1 1/8 miles April 23. The newly graded Whitmore (formerly the Hot Springs Stakes) is a major local steppingstone to the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) at 6 furlongs April 16.

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Rebel Stakes Winner Concert Tour Returns For Cox In Saturday’s Fifth Season At Oaklawn

Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and nationally prominent owners Gary and Mary West were opponents on Oaklawn's 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby. But several months after the meeting ended in May, they began collaborating and already have two victories together this season in Hot Springs.

“I don't have a clue how many horses they've sent me,” said Cox, Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2021-2022. “I can't even keep track. We have a lot. They're great to work with.”

Perhaps the most intriguing prospect Cox received from the Wests following the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, Concert Tour, was among the biggest names during the 2021 Oaklawn meeting.

Then with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Concert Tour was a flashy winner of the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds last March – the Cox-trained Caddo River was fifth – before his unbeaten record and Kentucky Derby hopes crashed with a weakening third-place finish in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) in April. Caddo River was second in the Arkansas Derby.

Concert Tour, who is unraced since a ninth-place finish in last May's Preakness, makes his first start for Cox in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses Saturday at Oaklawn. The 1-mile Fifth Season has drawn a strong field of nine, including three millionaires (Rated R Superstar, Snapper Sinclair and Long Range Toddy), another Oaklawn stakes winner (Silver Prospector) and Mucho, who will be making his two-turn debut.

Probable post time for the Fifth Season, which goes as the eighth of nine races, is 3:46 p.m. (Central). First post Saturday is 12:30 p.m.

Concert Tour, the 5-2 program favorite, has nine published workouts since Nov. 14 in advance of his 4-year-old debut. Concert Tour was entered in the $75,000 Woodchopper Stakes Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds, but scratched after the race didn't come off the grass. A forward factor early in his first five career starts, Concert Tour's return to Oaklawn will mark his first start without blinkers. He also adds Lasix for the first time since his debut last January at Santa Anita.

“I like him a lot,” Cox said. “He's a talented horse. I think if he runs the way he trains, we'll be in good shape.”

The projected Fifth Season field from the rail out: Thomas Shelby, David Cohen to ride, 122 pounds, 5-1 on the morning line; Rated R Superstar, David Cabrera, 122, 8-1; Snapper Sinclair, Ramon Vazquez, 122, 6-1; Necker Island, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 9-2; Concert Tour, Joel Rosario, 122, 5-2; Atoka, Luis Contreras, 122, 15-1; Long Range Toddy, Jon Court, 115, 10-1; Silver Prospector, Ricardo Santana Jr., 115, 10-1; and Mucho, Florent Geroux, 122, 7-2.

Mucho came from just off the pace to capture an allowance sprint Dec. 18 at Oaklawn for trainer John Ortiz and owners WSS Racing (William Simon) and 4 G Racing (Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway). Mucho has bankrolled $686,729 in a 29-race career, but the 6-year-old son of 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Blame has never raced around two turns. Ortiz, on behalf of WSS and 4 G, claimed Mucho for $80,000 in November 2020 at Churchill Downs.

“To me, I don't think distance is going to be an issue,” Ortiz said. “The only variable that we have here is going to be the two turns. Will he sprint out and run off or will he sprint out and be able to rate and either dictate the speed or just sit off the pace and use his sprint ability for the finish?”

Snapper Sinclair seeks his first career stakes victory on dirt after finishing second, beaten a neck in the 2020 Fifth Season, and finishing fifth in the 2019 Fifth Season for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and co-owner Jeff Bloom (Bloom Racing). Snapper Sinclair finished fifth in his last start, the $100,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes Dec. 18 at Turfway Park. Turfway has a synthetic surface.

“He had come out of the Breeders' Cup in such great shape and we didn't really have a whole of options with him and he had yet to run on a synthetic track,” Bloom said. “We just figured, 'What the heck? Let's give it a try.' It was one of his extremely rare, sort of flat performances, so we just kind of drawn a line through that one and refocus on the coming year.”

The speedy Thomas Shelby cuts back to a mile after finishing a game second behind heralded stablemate Lone Rock in the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles Dec. 18 at Oaklawn for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

“I think it's the best race he's run,” Diodoro said.

Thomas Shelby won seven races in 2021, including two last spring at Oaklawn, after being privately purchased by Diodoro's major client, four-time local leading owner M and M Racing (Mike and Mickala Sisk).

Silver Prospector, another Asmussen trainee, is seeking his first stakes victory since the $750,000 Southwest (G3) for 3-year-olds in 2020 at Oaklawn. Necker Island ran ninth in the rescheduled 2020 Kentucky Derby and returns to a route after finishing fourth in the $150,000 Thanksgiving Classic Stakes Nov. 25 at Fair Grounds for 2015 Oaklawn training champion Chris Hartman.

The Fifth Season is a major steppingstone toward the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses April 23. The Asmussen-trained Silver State won the Fifth Season and Oaklawn Handicap in 2021.

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Necker Island Scores First Stakes Win In Bet On Sunshine

The Scherr Boys' Necker Island, who finished ninth in last year's Kentucky Derby, narrowly prevailed in a three-horse photo for the win in Saturday's 13th running of the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine at Churchill Downs to beat Mucho by a head with Sir Alfred James another neck back in third.

Ridden by Mitchell Murrill for trainer Chris Hartman, Necker Island ran six furlongs in 1:09.22 over a fast track to give the jockey and conditioner their third win together on the 11-race program.

It was Necker Island's first career stakes win, but he has proven fruitful for owner Wayne Scherr after he and other partners claimed the horses for $100,000 on June 13, 2020. Since then, Necker Island finished third in the $300,000 Grade 3 Indiana Derby and $200,000 Ellis Park Derby, which led to a start in the 2020 Kentucky Derby. This was his third victory in seven starts this year.

The win was worth $183,450 and improved Necker Island's career earnings to $565,532 with a record of 5-1-4 in 18 starts.

Necker Island returned $9.40, $4.20, and $3.20 as the 7-2 third betting choice. Mucho, the 5-2 favorite under Rey Gutierrez, paid $3.40 and $3.20. Sir Alfred James, ridden by John McKee, paid $5 to show. Bango, Long Weekend and Atoka completed the order of finish.

Sir Alfred James and Rough Entry battled for the early lead in the field of eight older horses through a first quarter mile in :21.66 as Necker Island raced in fifth along the inside. Necker Island had to check entering the turn as Sir Alfred James and Mucho left the turn vying for the lead in :45.01. Necker Island continued to race along the rail, wore down those rivals, and got up at the wire.

“I saw there was a lot of speed in this race so I wanted to let my horse settle,” Murrill said. “He settled very well up the backside and I had a lot of horse turning for home. I'm really proud of his effort and the Hartman team did a great job getting him ready.”

The race was spoiled by an incident on the turn when Vertical Threat, ridden by Adam Beschizza, and Rough Entry, with Brian Hernandez Jr. up, fell. Both jockeys walked to the onsite ambulance and were examined onsite by EMTs. Rough Entry was corralled by the outriders. Vertical Threat was vanned off.

Necker Island is a 4-year-old son of Hard Spun out of the Mr. Greeley mare Jenny's Rocket and was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Stables.

Racing at Churchill Downs continues Sunday with a 10-race card that begins at 1 p.m. (all times Eastern). Sunday is Military Appreciation Day with free admission or a discounted $29 ticket to Skye Terrace for active and retired members of the U.S. armed services.

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Wondrwherecraigis Leads Field For De Francis Dash At Laurel

It's on to the $200,000 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash for newly minted stakes winner Wondrwherecraigis, who tuned up for his return to graded competition with an easy half-mile breeze Saturday morning at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' 4-year-old gelding Wondrwherecraigis went four furlongs in :49 over Laurel's main track, which underwent a multi-million dollar reconstruction over the summer.

It was the second work for Wondrwherecraigis since earning his first career stakes victory Aug. 13 in the Tale of the Cat at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He also breezed a half-mile in :49.20 Sept. 3.

“That's all we wanted,” trainer Brittany Russell said of Saturday's work. “He's great. He's in good form. He's happy and he's training well. We have a lot going on at the moment, but it looks like we're going to move forward to next week.”

The six-furlong De Francis for 3-year-olds and up headlines four stakes worth $500,000 in purses Saturday, Sept. 18 at Laurel, which launched its calendar year-ending fall meet Thursday. Joining the De Francis are the $100,000 Weather Vane for fillies and mares 3 and up sprinting six furlongs and a pair of $100,000 stakes going one mile, the Polynesian for 3-year-olds and up and Twixt for females 3 and older.

All four races are part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series.

Named for the late president and chairman of both Laurel and historic Pimlico Race Course, the De Francis' illustrious roster of winners includes Hall of Famer Housebuster, fellow sprint champions Cherokee Run, Smoke Glacken, Thor's Echo and Benny the Bull, and Lite the Fuse, the race's only two-time winner (1995-96) honored with his own stakes race in Maryland.

Wondrwherecraigis has won each of his last two starts, both in front-running fashion. Saratoga meet champion Luis Saez was aboard in the six-furlong Tale of the Cat, beating fellow De Francis nominee My Boy Tate by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:10.09. He was a popular 5 ¾-length winner of a July 18 optional claiming allowance at Pimlico under Russell's husband, jockey Sheldon Russell.

The connections will need a new rider as Sheldon Russell suffered a broken foot after being thrown from his horse during the post parade of Thursday's opening day finale at Laurel and will be out indefinitely.

Other jockeys to have ridden Wondrwherecraigis include Jose Lezcano and Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, the latter in the 2020 Grade 2 Amsterdam last August where they ran fourth in the Munnings gelding's only previous graded-stakes attempt.

Sheldon Russell is also the regular rider for six-time stakes winner Hello Beautiful, trained by his wife and owned by Madaket Stables, Albert Frassetto, Mark Parkinson, K-Mac Stables, and Magic City Stables and scheduled to start in the Weather Vane. Hello Beautiful, who gave Russell his 1,500th career victory in the July 31 Alma North at Pimlico, breezed a half-mile in :48.60 Sept. 8.

“We'll just regroup here the next couple days and see what we're going to do,” Brittany Russell said.

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Other De Francis nominees breezing Saturday were Mucho, four furlongs in :50.80 at the Churchill Downs' Trackside training center for trainer John Ortiz; and Gary Capuano-trained stablemates Band On Tour (:48.20) and Threes Over Deuces (:48.40) at Delaware Park.

Band On Tour, 4, exits a six-furlong optional claiming allowance win Aug. 7 at Pimlico. Threes Over Deuces is a stakes winner that has run second or third in six others including a runner-up finish to Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire in the 2020 Grade 3 General George at Laurel.

Mucho leads the 3-year-old and up dirt sprint division of the MATCH Series with 20 points, two more than defending De Francis champion and fellow nominee Laki. Winner of the July 31 Challedon at Pimlico, Mucho is also tied with Chub Wagon for the overall MATCH Series championship.

Kentucky-based Ortiz said Saturday that Mucho is being pointed to the Grade 2 Phoenix Oct. 8 at Keeneland, an automatic qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I know we're sitting so close to winning the MATCH Series, but when a horse is doing this well you have to take advantage,” Ortiz said. “Kentucky being our home and his home track and Lexington being my hometown, I just think it's best to get a 'Win and You're In' while things are going the right way.”

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