Tag: Oaklawn

Oaklawn: Cox Looking For Big Things From Caddo River, Little Sister Como Square

Officially, he wasn't the winner. But, Caddo River accomplished something for the first time in his racing career Dec. 19 at Oaklawn, reaching the finish line first after not controlling a race on the front end.

Trainer Brad Cox said he hopes that performance is something Caddo River can build on during his 4-year-old campaign at the 2021-'22 Oaklawn meeting. Caddo River was a promising Kentucky Derby prospect last winter in Hot Springs after consecutive gate-to-wire blowout victories at a mile, including a record-setting 10 ¼-length score in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn.

After Caddo River was withdrawn from Kentucky Derby consideration because of a minor illness, Cox and breeder/owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs pulled the plug following the Hard Spun's colt sixth-place finish in the $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) June 5 at Belmont Park.

Caddo River resurfaced in the 1-mile allowance race late last month and had an eventful trip under regular rider Florent Geroux. Caddo River was rank early and bottled up in fifth along the inside on the second turn. Swung five-wide turning for home, Caddo River ran down Atoka to win by a neck in 1:38.28 over a fast track. But following a claim of foul by Luis Contreras, the rider of Atoka, and a stewards' inquiry, Caddo River was disqualified and placed second for lugging in and bumping Atoka near the finish line, according to footnotes from the official race chart.

“Big race,” Cox said Thursday morning. “It was good to see him pass horses as opposed to going to the front and holding on. A talented horse. I thought it was an extremely good race off the layoff – passed some good horses. I think for him to be what we want him to be, a horse that can compete at the graded stake level, he's going to have to be able to pass horses and relax a little bit. He didn't relax as well as we would have liked to have seen him, but I think once he gets a couple of runs under him, hopefully, he'll figure out that he's going to have to shut it off early to have a little bit better closing kick.”

Although Caddo River has plenty of stakes experience – he also finished fifth in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) and second in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) last year at Oaklawn – Cox said another conditioned allowance “is probably the logical spot” for a second start off a long layoff.

“Trying to develop the horse and have a good winter with him and a good 2022, it probably makes the most sense,” Cox said.

Cox, Anthony and Caddo River's dam, Pangburn, nearly pulled off a double Dec. 19 at Oaklawn.

About an hour before Caddo River was disqualified from his victory, half-sibling Como Square, won an entry-level allowance sprint for 2-year-old fillies.

Como Square, by super sire Into Mischief, is unbeaten in two lifetime starts and probably headed to the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29, Cox said. The 1 1/16-mile Martha Washington, which would mark Como Square's first start around two turns, is Oaklawn's first of three Kentucky Oaks points races.

“It's really the logical spot moving forward, trying to stretch her a little bit,” Cox said. “She's a half to Caddo, but she really doesn't look anything like him physically. She's real strong and stout, where he's got a lot more leg and looks like a two-turn horse, where she looks like she might be a little limited on distance.”

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Pangburn, a daughter of Congrats, was an allowance winner in 2015 at Oaklawn for Anthony and trainer Kenny McPeek. Pangburn then finished third in the $150,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) and fourth in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3). The Honeybee and Fantasy are Oaklawn's final two Kentucky Oaks points races.

Anthony boards Pangburn at famed Stone Farm in Kentucky. Pangburn also has a 2-year-old colt by champion Nyquist and is booked back to Hard Spun, said John Gasper, who is Anthony's racing manager.

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Trainer Chelsey Moysey Off To Fast Start At Oaklawn Park

Chelsey Moysey has won 3 of 7 starts at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting that began Dec. 3 and the fast break from the gate coincides with a change of scenery.

She saddled her first career winner in 2019 at Belterra Park in Cincinnati and her second came later that year at nearby Turfway Park in Kentucky. Moysey spent much of 2020 in Kentucky before shifting her summer/fall base to the mid-Atlantic for the first time, specifically Delaware Park, after the 2021 Oaklawn meeting ended in May. Spurred by her success at Delaware Park, Moysey already has a career-high 19 victories overall this year after winning 11 races in 2020 and two in 2019.

“I feel like it was definitely a great career move for me,” said Moysey, 28, a former assistant to the now-retired Buff Bradley. “It makes it a little easier. It's where you can expand and still keep your numbers without having everything claimed from you in two weeks. It's exhausting.”

All three of Moysey's Oaklawn winners, Substantial ($19.60), favored Little Burrito ($4.60) and Izzybella ($24.40), raced in 2021 at Delaware Park. Its meet ran May 26-Oct. 30. Substantial and Little Burrito are owned by the trainer's major client, Lewis Mathews of Bismarck, Ark. Izzybella is owned by a new client, Al Klerlein, who operates a structural steel fabrication and erection company in Delaware.

Moysey said among Delaware Park's biggest perks is location. Although stabled there, she also ran horses at Parx, Monmouth Park, Charles Town, Laurel, Penn National and Belmont Park.

“Everything's under three hours,” Moysey said. “You have all the options. If you can't find a race in one spot, you can find it in another. It was neat. I shipped all over the place.”

Moysey finished the Delaware meeting with 10 victories, including her first career stakes score in the $50,000 White Clay Creek. Through nine days of Oaklawn's scheduled 66-day meeting, Moysey is already poised to surpass her victory total from the 2021 meeting. She was 4 for 42.

“You always hope for a good start, but I didn't expect it to be this good,” Moysey said. “Last year, I think I went 0 for 23 before I even won.”

Red Hot Mess is among 15 horses Moysey has at Oaklawn. Purchased for only $20,000 in May at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic 2-year-old in training sale, Red Hot Mess is entered in a 1-mile allowance race Friday. Moysey said it could be an audition for the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29, which is Oaklawn's first of three Kentucky Oaks points races. Red Hot Mess is a daughter of 2011 Preakness winner Shackleford.

Another 2-year-old Moysey has for Mathews is recent addition Vodka N Water, a Fed Biz colt who, despite being a maiden, earned $100,710 in seven starts this year and was twice stakes placed, including the $150,000 Bashford Manor (G3) June 26 at Churchill Downs.

Mathews purchased Vodka N Water, previously with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, for $45,000 at Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale. Vodka N Water is being pointed toward an entry-level allowance race next month, Moysey said.

“We're going to stretch him out two turns and see what happens,” Moysey said.

Moysey has eight career Oaklawn victories.

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Saturday’s Smarty Jones Stakes Draws 14 Triple Crown Hopefuls

Record purse, record number of nominees and possibly a record crowd in the starting gate.

Oaklawn's Road to the Kentucky Derby begins Saturday with the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, a one-mile race that has drawn a full field of 14. Probable post time for the Smarty Jones, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 4:13 p.m. (Central). First post is 12:30 p.m.

The Smarty Jones is Oaklawn's first of four Kentucky Derby points races, with 17 up for grabs to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1, respectively). What's different in 2022 is the timing of those races. Coinciding with an expanded 2021-2022 schedule – the Dec. 3 opening was the earliest in Oaklawn history and more than a month before traditional dates – the Smarty Jones, Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 29, Rebel (G2) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26 and Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles April 2 were all moved up on the calendar.

The Smarty Jones previously had been run in mid to late January, Southwest in mid to late February and the Rebel in mid to late March. The Arkansas Derby is still in April, but it is now five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, instead of falling three weeks away as it has since 1996.

In addition to the revamped schedule, Oaklawn President Louis Cella boosted the purse of the Smarty Jones from $150,000 to $250,000 and the Arkansas Derby from $1 million to a record $1.25 million, keeping it the country's richest Kentucky Derby prep race.

The moves are already paying dividends.

The Smarty Jones, inaugurated in 2008, drew a record 98 nominees. If the field remains intact, it will be the largest in race history, eclipsing 12 starters in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

“Not that the Smarty Jones is new, the placement of the Smarty Jones is new,” Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope said moments after Tuesday's post position draw for the race. “The fact that Louis wanted to put more money in, all those things tremendously helped the race.”

The projected 14-horse Smarty Jones field from the rail out:

  1. Dash Attack, David Cohen to ride, 117 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line
  2. All in Sync, Ricardo Santana Jr., 117, 8-1
  3. Home Brew, Florent Geroux, 119, 3-1
  4. Kavod, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 5-1
  5. Ignitis, Luis Contreras, 117, 15-1
  6. Bureau, David Cabrera, 117, 12-1
  7. Ruggs, Julien Leparoux, 117, 10-1
  8. Vivar, Martin Garcia, 119, 8-1
  9. Don'tcrossthedevil, Lane Luzzi, 117, 10-1
  10. Barber Road, Reylu Gutierrez, 117, 4-1
  11. Cairama, Geovanni Franco, 117, 8-1
  12. Cool Papa G, Ramon Vazquez, 117, 6-1
  13. Immoral, Tiago Pereira, 117, 20-1
  14. Ben Diesel, Jon Court, 117, 5-1

Oaklawn's totalisator system can accommodate 14 wagering interests after an upgrade for the 2017 meeting.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen nominated 21 horses to the Smarty Jones and entered three – All in Sync, Cairama and Cool Papa G. Trainer Brad Cox nominated 14 and entered program favorite Home Brew and Vivar. Trainer Kenny McPeek nominated five and entered Dash Attack. Fair Grounds-based trainer Dallas Stewart, who has a small string at Oaklawn, is scheduled to be represented by Ben Diesel.

Strong interest in the Smarty Jones comes on the heels of two other recent 17-point Kentucky Derby preps – $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 17 at Remington Park and the inaugural $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes last Sunday at Fair Grounds.

“I think now, it's boom, boom, boom,” Pope said. “What I'm seeing, trainers do this even for Breeders' Cup, they work backwards. The don't work forwards. So, they sit there and work backwards. How many races do I need to get to the Kentucky Derby? How many races do I need to get to the Arkansas Derby? And what's the best scenario to do it?”

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Ben Diesel exits a fourth-place finish in the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs. The son of champion and 2013 Smarty Jones winner Will Take Charge is a homebred for Willis Horton of Marshall, Ark. Ben Diesel is full brother to Will's Secret, who won Oaklawn's $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes and $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting for Stewart and Horton.

Barber Road, Cool Papa G and Ignitis finished 2-3-6, respectively, in the $200,000 Lively Shively Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs. Lively Shively winner Tejano Twist returned to run second in the Gun Runner at 1 1/16 miles.

Vivar finished sixth in the Kentucky Jockey Club for Cox and breeder/owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs, who teamed to win the 2021 Smarty Jones with Caddo River. Home Brew, in his two-turn debut, was a Dec. 4 entry-level allowance winner at Oaklawn. Dash Attack was a career debut winner at 1 mile Dec. 5 at Oaklawn.

Kavod, Cairama and Ruggs were 1-3-4, respectively, in the $150,000 Advent Stakes Dec. 3.

Kavod won the 6-furlong Advent – Oaklawn's first stakes race for 2-year-olds since 1973 – in his first start after being claimed out of a Nov. 20 sprint victory at Churchill Downs for $50,000 by trainer Chris Hartman. The Smarty Jones would mark Kavod's two-turn debut on the main track.

“We're just looking at it,” Hartman, Oaklawn's 2015 training champion, said Tuesday afternoon. “We'll see how he looks in the race.”

Like the Smarty Jones, the Southwest is a 17-point race. The stakes become bigger in the Rebel (85 points to the top four finishers, including 50 to the winner) and Arkansas Derby (170, including 100 to the winner).

Starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 horses, is determined by points earned in designated races like the Smarty Jones, Southwest, Rebel and Arkansas Derby.

The date of the Arkansas Derby is now more in line with other final major Kentucky Derby preps across the country. The 170-point Louisiana Derby, for example, is only a week before the Arkansas Derby in 2022.

“It's the trend,” Asmussen said. “You know, more time between races for big horses.”

Qualifying points are only awarded to horses who don't use race-day Lasix in Road to the Kentucky Derby races. None of the 14 Smarty Jones entrants will be racing on the anti-bleeder medication Saturday.

Oaklawn's scheduled 66-day meeting ends May 8, the day after the Kentucky Derby.

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Lone Rock Will Try To End 2021 Season On Top In Oaklawn’s Inaugural Tinsel Stakes

Lone Rock tries to punctuate a sensational 2021 campaign in the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the 1 1/8-mile Tinsel, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 4:13 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:30 p.m.

The Tinsel, for 3-year-olds and up, is among four new races added to Oaklawn's stakes schedule to accommodate an expanded season in 2021-2022 (66 days) and December opening, the earliest in track history. It has drawn a field of seven, including three millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Lone Rock opened 2021 with an allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles last February at Oaklawn, his first start since trainer Robertino Diodoro re-claimed the gelding for $40,000 in November 2020 at Churchill Downs. A two-time allowance winner at the 2021 Oaklawn meeting, Lone Rock flourished after targeting races beyond the American classic distance (1 ¼ miles) and surpassed $1 million in career earnings with a 1 ½-length victory in the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes (G2) Nov. 6 at Del Mar in his last start. Lone Rock set a 1 5/8-mile track record (2:42.61) under Oaklawn regular Ramon Vazquez.

Diodoro said he doesn't believe cutting back to 1 1/8 miles will be a problem for Lone Rock, whose shortest race this year was the February allowance.

“I don't think so, just because the horse is doing so good right now and there's enough speed in there, on paper, anyway,” Diodoro said. “Again, we'll see what happens Saturday.”

Lone Rock has bankrolled $722,884 in winning 6 of 8 starts (all in 2021) since Diodoro took back the now-6-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding on behalf of New York owner Jason Provenzano (Flying P Stable). Prior to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Lone Rock had captured an April 11 allowance race at Oaklawn, $130,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon Overnight Stakes April 27 at Churchill Downs, $400,000 Brooklyn Stakes (G2) June 5 at Belmont Park and the $120,000 Birdstone Stakes Aug. 5 at Saratoga.

The April 11 race, Isaac Murphy and Brooklyn were all 1 ½ miles. The Birdstone was 1 ¾ miles. Lone Rock also finished second in another 1 ½-mile race, the $150,000 Temperence Hill Stakes for older horses, March 13 at Oaklawn.

Overall, Lone Rock has a 13-4-2 record from 36 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,024,921. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance was his fifth career stakes victory.

Diodoro said the Tinsel could serve as the gelding's bridge to another shot against Grade-1 company in 2022. Lone Rock ran in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) for 2-year-olds in 2017 at Keeneland, but spent most of his career in the allowance ranks before blossoming in niche events this year.

“At the same time, it's one day at a time, definitely,” Diodoro said. “We're just focused on Saturday night now and see what happens.”

Also entered in the Tinsel are Warrior's Charge and Tenfold, two other millionaire multiple graded stakes winners.

Warrior's Charge won the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses in 2020 at Oaklawn for trainer Brad Cox. Warrior's Charge exits a runner-up finish, beaten a nose by Tinsel entrant Thomas Shelby, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race Oct. 24 at Keeneland. Warrior's Charge still received a career-high 101 Beyer Speed Figure, four points higher than for his Razorback victory.

“He likes Oaklawn,” Cox said. “I think it's a good spot. He drew well. Looks like a shorter field. I think it's good timing since his last race. He received some big figures out of his last run and he's had plenty of time to recover from it. If he gets some similar figures again, I think we'll be in good shape.”

Tenfold, a Grade 2 winner, captured his first two career starts at the 2018 Oaklawn meeting for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen before finishing third in the Preakness. Diodoro also entered the speedy Thomas Shelby, who has won three consecutive starts, including a narrow decision over Warrior's Charge in October, and seven overall in 2021.

“There's lots of speed in the race, but we definitely aren't changing our tactics, that's for sure,” said Diodoro, who trains Thomas Shelby for four-time defending Oaklawn champion owner M and M Racing (Mike and Mickala Sisk). “We're going to go as hard as we need to go on the front end and hopefully have enough to last.”

The projected seven-horse Tinsel field from the rail out: Huge Bigly, Reylu Gutierrez to ride, 117 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Lone Rock, Ramon Vazquez, 124, 8-5; Beau Luminarie, Ricardo Santana Jr., 124, 6-1; Title Ready, Brian Hernandez Jr., 124, 9-2; Tenfold, Luis Contreras, 117, 6-1; Thomas Shelby, David Cohen, 121, 8-1; and Warrior's Charge, Florent Geroux, 124, 5-2.

Diodoro also entered Thomas Shelby in Sunday's seventh race, a starter/optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles.

Beau Luminarie is the first scheduled starter at the meeting for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, who won the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses in 2019 at Oaklawn with Quip. Beau Luminarie is seeking his first stakes victory after near-misses in the $150,000 Ben Ali (G3) April 10 at Keeneland and the $60,000 Tri-State Overnight Aug. 7 at Ellis Park. Although Beau Luminarie has nine runner-up finishes in his 18-race career, he's won his last two starts, both in allowance company this fall in Kentucky.

“I think with the year he's had, it's no pressure,” Brisset said. “He's just turned the corner and found the wire. He's been finding the wire. Before, he had a tendency to want to hang, he had a tendency to want to run second. All of a sudden, he just learned how to win. I think we are in the right spot. I'm not saying he's going to win by 5, but he's improving and we'll see what happens. Likely, he'll get a break after the race and set him up for next year.”

Grade 3 winner Title Ready will be making his second start after finishing 11th behind 2021 Razorback winner Mystic Guide in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) March 27 in the United Arab Emirates for trainer Dallas Stewart.

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