oaklawn mile | Horse Racing Free Tips

By My Standards, C Z Rocket Face Off In Monday’s Steve Sexton Mile

Monday, Memorial Day, May 31 is Lone Star Million Day at Lone Star Park. Five stakes worth a total of $1.1 million will be up for grabs, with the Grade 3, $400,000 Steve Sexton Mile headlining the card.

The one-mile dirt contest drew a field of eight and is scheduled as the 11th and final race of the evening.

Multiple Grade 2 winner By My Standards drew post three for trainer Bret Calhoun, and will make the Sexton his second start of 2021. In April, the 5-year-old son of Goldencents won the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile by a game nose over Rushie, the latter expected to target the Met Mile on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Gabriel Saez retains the mount.

C Z Rocket, the 7-year-old gelding trained by Peter Miller, has already won two races this season. He defeated reigning Breedesr' Cup Sprint champion Whitmore in both the Hot Springs Stakes and the G3 Count Fleet Sprint, and will be stretching out to a mile under the hands of jockey Florent Geroux.

The 5-year-old gelding Sherriff Brown enters the starting gate off three straight wins in allowance company for trainer Todd Fincher. Out of the champion New Mexico-bred Rose's Desert (15-10-5-0, $$626,035) and sired by Curlin, Sherriff Brown is a half-brother to graded stakes winner Runaway Ghost (15-8-3-0, $783,509) and stakes winner Senor Buscador (3-2-0-0, $145,247).

Here is the field in post position order with jockey and trainer.

1) Silver Prospector, Ricardo Santana, Jr.,Steven M. Asmussen
2) Sheriff Brown, Ty Kennedy, Todd W. Fincher
3) By My Standards, Gabriel Saez, W. Bret Calhoun
4) Warrior's Charge, Joel Rosario, Brad H. Cox
5) Hunka Burning Love, David Cabrera, Karl Broberg
6) Harvey Wallbanger, Danny Sorenson, Danny Pish
7) Mo Mosa, Ramon Vazquez, Michael J. Maker
8) C Z Rocket, Florent Geroux, Peter Miller

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Joel Rosario Fined For Misjudging Finish At Oaklawn

Top jockey Joel Rosario has been fined $200 by stewards at Oaklawn Park after riding “well past the finish wire” on April 10, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

Rosario was aboard favorite Rushie in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile, a one-mile contest over the main track which begins and ends at the sixteenth pole in lieu of the regular finish line. Though Rushie was passed by By My Standards for the victory, Rosario continued to ride his mount another sixteenth of a mile, apparently misjudging the wire.

Gabriel Saez, aboard By My Standards, appeared to speak to Rosario after the wire, with Saez “reaching out left-handed to give Rosario a seemingly friendly post-race tap on the right shoulder.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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By My Standards Earns Nose Victory Over Rushie In Oaklawn Mile

A three-time graded stakes winner last year as a 4-year-old including a victory in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap, Allied Racing Stable and Spendthrift Farm's By My Standards successfully began his 5-year-old campaign with a hard-fought win in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile, one of the co-features on Arkansas Derby day at the Hot Springs, Ark., track.

Ridden by Gabriel Saez for trainer Bret Calhoun, By My Standards – a 5-year-old by Goldencents – was up just in time to beat Rushie by a nose, covering one mile on a fast main track in 1:37.02 and paying $6.80 as the second choice in the wagering behind the runner-up, who was sent off the 9-5 favorite.

Wells Bayou finished third, followed by Gun It, and Blackberry Wine.

Pioneer Spirit, a 21-1 longshot, outran Rushie to get the early lead, going fractions of :23.21, :47.82 and 1:12.68 for the opening six furlongs. Blackberry Wine applied pressure from the outside on the final turn, with Rushie and jockey Joel Rosario getting through on the inside on the turn for home and quickly taking command. By My Standards was travelling well on the outside and came up to challenge the leader in mid-stretch. Rushie was not finished, however, fighting back gamely under Rosario and just losing the head bob at the wire.

The win was the seventh in 15 career starts for By My Standards, who was bred in Kentucky by Don Ladd. He won the G2 Louisiana Derby at 3 and added the G2 New Orleans Classic, Oaklawn Handicap and G2 Alysheba Stakes last year at 4.

Rushie, trained in Southern California by Michael McCarthy, was also making his seasonal debut after a 3-year-old campaign that included one stakes victory in the G2 Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs Sept. 5.

Post-race quotes:

Winning Trainer Bret Calhoun, By My Standards: “Watching it live, I thought he did (win). But when I started watching the replay, I thought he might have gotten beat on the bob. He was really ready. He really was well prepared, but I was more concerned about the short stretch mile, honestly. He's just a really good horse and he keeps overcoming. Honestly, I thought he might get shuffled back a little farther than he did. I thought Gabe (Saez) did a great job getting him in a very good position early without having to use too much horse. It kind of played out like we thought. There was quite a bit of speed in there. Some of the horses on the outside had speed and they had to make some quick decisions. Gabe just rode a great race. Fortunate enough to get him in a good spot early. It took every bit of that stretch to get there. It was a great race.”

Winning jockey Gabriel Saez, By My Standards: “I was trying to get that one position I wanted on the first turn. I got bounced around a little bit, but I relaxed and just tried to keep in that striking position. I was worried about the four (Rushie) inside of me a little bit, but when I saw him go through, I started to go after him. When we turned for home, my horse just left them and kicked in the extra gear I was expecting from him. Luckily we got there.”

Trainer Brad Cox, third with Wells Bayou: “Ran real well. Thought it was a big effort. Kind of pulled a little bit up the backside, but when he caught daylight down on the inside he was able to get a clean run in the lane and ran on. I thought it was a very good effort.”

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Wells Bayou Continues Comeback In Saturday’s Oaklawn Mile

As a star wide receiver during the mid-1980s at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Lance Gasaway is aware of injuries and the lengthy down time between seasons. Wells Bayou, co-owned by Gasaway and his father, Clint, is an equine reminder of that.

A year ago, Wells Bayou was coming off a victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds and headed for the Kentucky Derby. Then COVID-19 hit, the Kentucky Derby was moved to September, Wells Bayou finished a disappointing fifth in the second division of the rescheduled $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) in May at Oaklawn and bone bruising sidelined the Lookin At Lucky colt for the remainder of 2020.

Wells Bayou, who is trained by Brad Cox, is scheduled to make just his second start since the Arkansas Derby in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile for older horses Saturday at Oaklawn.

“It's been a long, drawn-out year for Wells,” Lance Gasaway said Wednesday afternoon.

The speedy Wells Bayou, in his only start this year, ran third in the $125,000 Louisiana Stakes (G3) Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds. Wells Bayou was scratched from the $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes (G3) Feb. 13 at Fair Grounds because of a minor illness, Gasaway said, then missed the $500,000 Essex Handicap March 13 at Oaklawn with a foot issue.

“Just been one thing after another with him,” Gasaway said. “It's horrible. We were worried about getting him back. Brad had told me: 'He said Lance, I don't know if we're going to make it back, like in December.' He just got so big. He grew so much and put so much weight on, I think it just took longer to get him in shape. Really felt good after that Louisiana Stakes. Actually, the week before the Mineshaft, he worked a :59.80 (5 furlongs) down there and Brad said, 'Hey, he's ready.' We really thought we had a shot to beat Maxfield. Really did. He was training that well, then had to lay him off a month with all that other crap.”

Wells Bayou returned to Oaklawn last Sunday, according to Jorgito Abrego, who oversees Cox's local division. Wells Bayou made three starts last year in Hot Springs, recording a powerful first-level allowance victory in his two-turn debut before finishing second in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) and fifth behind Nadal in the second division of the Arkansas Derby.

“To be honest with you, this race, Brad thinks this is just going to be another conditioning race,” Gasaway said. “In fact, we're still a race away from getting him back like he was. But it's a shorter race, so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully, we'll run good.”

The Gasaways, who grew up and still reside in southeast Arkansas, purchased Wells Bayou on the advice of bloodstock agent Liz Crow (BSW/Crow Bloodstock) for $105,000 at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-year-old in training sale. Crow brokered a deal before the Louisiana Derby to bring in BSW/Crow clients Sol Kumin (Madaket Stables) and Marc Lore (Wonder Stables) as partners in the bay son of champion Lookin At Lucky.

Clint Gasaway named Wells Bayou after a small community about 70 miles southeast of Little Rock.

Overall, Wells Bayou has a 3-1-1 record from seven lifetime starts and earnings of $872,793. Wells Bayou (4-1 on the morning line) is among nine horses entered in the Oaklawn Mile. Probable post time for the Oaklawn Mile, the ninth of 13 races, is 4:49 p.m. (Central).

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