“In 2001, I was coaching Panama High School in the state softball championships at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, a couple of furlongs from Remington Park,” Caldwell said upon learning of his Hall of Fame inclusion. “I really got going with horse racing right after that. I would have never thought, that just over 20 years later, I would be going into the Hall of Fame at Remington. I am truly honored.”

Equine entrants into the hall are led by Remington Park all-time wins leader Welder (The Visualizer), who won 16  races at the oval and earned over $1.2 million during his racing career  from 2015-2021. Welder also holds the record for most stakes wins at Remington with 11.

Joining him in the hall of fame are: Shotgun Kowboy (Kodiak Kowboy), winner of the 2015 Oklahoma Derby and a record four Oklahoma Classics Cups; Slide Show (Slewacide), winner of 11 consecutive Remington Park races from 1993 to 1995, including seven stakes races; and fan favorite Darrell Darrell (Boca Rio).

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Rated R Superstar began his career in the barn of Ken McPeek and was third to Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway) in the 2015 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity before finishing unplaced behind Nyquist (Uncle Mo) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Winner of the GIII Carry Back S. in 2016, he added the GIII Ben Ali S. as a 5-year-old in 2018 and was claimed by Cipriano Contreras for $62,500 late that year. Winner of the 2019 Essex H., Rated R Superstar was haltered by Caldwell for $50,000 in January 2021 and posted his richest career victory in the 2022 GIII Essex H. A two-time winner of the Governor's Cup at Remington Park in 2021 and 2022, he was being aimed for a third try at that event, but Allison Caldwell tweeted that medication constructs dictated that he be retired “sound, healthy and happy.”

“Today is a bittersweet one, as @IloveFastHorses (Danny Caldwell) and I announce Rated R superstar's retirement to Old Friends,” Allison Caldwell said in the first of a three-tweet thread. “Owning Rated R has been one of the greatest gifts in our racing careers. He's a member of the family and we've always done things his way, in his best interest.

“As rule changes for Lasix this year, we feel an absence of therapeutic medication is not in the best interest for optimal health & performance. We're not in the habit of changing the things that are working for rules that do not benefit the health of our horses as individual.

“We are very excited about this next chapter and we ask that if you're in the area of Old Friends, please schedule a time to visit or make a donation on his behalf. He's a very social guy and he loves seeing his friends!”

In reply, Old Friends tweeted: “Allison, we are thrilled at the prospect of Rated R Superstar retiring to Old Friends. Thank you for trusting us with your boy!”

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So on a weekend when we temporarily suspend our search for the adolescent Thoroughbred maturing sufficiently to beat his peers on the first Saturday in May, let's celebrate the fulfilments that remain available later in life–whether on two legs or four.

The GIII Essex H. is the kind of race that warms the cockles of my heart. Last year it retrieved graded status, and deservedly so after increasing its purse fivefold between 2016 and 2021–a telling snapshot of the thriving Oaklawn program. And this time round it throws together a couple of evergreen veterans who show that whether age turns us into vinegar or vintage wine is largely up to us.

Listen to this edition of This Side Up.

In the case of D. Wayne Lukas, it actually stands to reason that he should still maintain the standards of his heyday even with a much smaller barn. True, he does seem as blessed in indefatigability as in the genius he always brought to his vocation, and harnessing one to the other has simply given a fresh dimension to his unique status in our community. A wider application, however, surely applies to the principle that any decline in the physical powers even of lesser mortals is compensated, and amply so, by experience.

It's not as though anyone sends an expensive Thoroughbred to a given trainer because he might otherwise have made a cage-fighter or lumberjack. I've never understood why “ageing” trainers (an alarmingly elastic concept) should have become unfashionable as they certainly are in my homeland. Some of the biggest yards in Newmarket these days seem to be supervised as a perk accompanying appointment as head boy at various prep schools. As I have frequently remarked, if I owned the Derby favourite, and he had a foot in a bucket of ice the evening before the race, I would rather my trainer was dealing with the problem for an umpteenth time, and not the first.

It would be nice to think that a few people pondered this after the longest-serving trainer in Newmarket won the Arc last autumn, and I was delighted to learn that Sir Mark Prescott will be training for the new monarch this year. On the other side of the water, meanwhile, Lukas himself offered a similar prompt to reflection with Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the GI Kentucky Oaks last year. Though he was now closer to 90 than 80, perhaps one or two people recognized that the guy might finally be getting the hang of the game.

Admittedly it was hard, after Rich Strike (Keen Ice) emerged from nowhere (both figuratively and literally) the next day, to resist a wistful sense that Secret Oath in that form might well have cut down the boys in the Derby after all. While her form then tapered off, last weekend she looked as rejuvenated as her trainer when resurfacing at the track where she first made her name.

That was a gratifying sight, after her breeders had resisted all blandishments to keep her in the Briland family. And Last Samurai, who represents Lukas in the Essex, similarly looked better than ever when taking his earnings past $1.6 million in the GIII Razorback H. Even in his fourth campaign, however, he remains a relative greenhorn compared to the horse who closed for fourth that day.

Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy) won this race last year, as he had back in 2019 when a callow 6-year-old, and now bids to retain the trophy on his 68th career start. Here's a horse, then, to renew the perennial question: who do we blame for the fact that the modern Thoroughbred is treated like porcelain? Is it the trainers themselves? Or do they only treat horses this way because of the raw materials they're nowadays given by breeders?

One trainer who sets himself apart in that respect is Kenny McPeek, who actually trained Rated R Superstar through his first 30 starts, including when third in the GI Breeders' Futurity. And on Saturday McPeek takes on his old buddy with another who exactly matched that effort as a juvenile, in Classic Causeway.

This time last year, this horse had just won the GII Tampa Bay Derby and was sketching out an apt memorial as one of just three colts in the final crop of Giant's Causeway. True to that legacy of toughness and versatility, in the summer Classic Causeway reinvented himself in startling fashion, winning a Grade I on turf just two weeks after finishing third in the GIII Ohio Derby. Few American trainers today would dare attempt anything like that, so who can presume to anticipate what he might yet achieve back on dirt?

This week McPeek has already dusted off another of last year's sophomores to make a really heartening return. It certainly seems a long time since Smile Happy (Runhappy) beat Classic Causeway (then in another barn) in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., not having been seen since his midfield finish in the Derby. But his rehearsals last spring had confirmed him among the best of the crop, and it's very wholesome to be reminded that there is life after the Triple Crown trail. Three years ago, after all, Last Samurai himself trailed in a distant fifth of six in the GI Arkansas Derby; while his rivals Saturday also include Silver Prospector (Declaration Of War), who had bombed out in the previous running of that race.

So let's hope that Litigate (Blame) can likewise return to build a career commensurate with his talent and potential after the hugely disappointing news that he's out of the Derby. All of us have some kind of stake in this horse doing enough to earn a place at stud, given that he has Numbered Account (Buckpasser) facing Thong (Nantallah) on either side of his pedigree. As that indicates, he has been in the best of hands throughout and hopefully his time will still come.

Even without him, the GII Louisiana Derby next week looks deep enough for horses to show that they could have a legitimate shot at Churchill but without banking enough points to prise open a gate. If that happens, however, nobody should despair. You might yet end up with a millionaire contesting the Essex H. in 2025. There are worse fates. Because what they say of people is probably just as true of many a horse: youth is wasted on the young.

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Also City of Light's first-born foal, Roja Ligera is out of a half-sister to GSW Wishful Tomcat (Tactical Cat) and to the dam of MGSW Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy). The winner has a yearling half-sister by Mastery.

City of Light, winner of both the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at four and the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at five, stood alongside his sire at Lane's End this year for $60,000 after seeing frenzied bidding for his first crop of yearlings last term. A City of Light colt topped Keeneland September at $1.7 million and 15 of his yearlings fetched $500,000 or more in 2021.

5th-Ellis, $60,000, Msw, 7-31, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f (off turf), 1:05.31, my, 1 1/4 lengths.
ROJA LIGERA (f, 2, City of Light-Redbud, by Union Rags) Sales History: $155,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $75,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $37,139. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-Three Diamonds Farm & Jospeh Besecker; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Joe Sharp.

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Lukas announced last week that he was going to run his star filly Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the Apr. 2 GI Arkansas Derby against the colts instead of in the safer pick, the GIII Fantasy S. run the same day. It's not just a bold choice, it is a smart choice. With the contingent of males heading to the Arkansas Derby an unusually weak one, Secret Oath figures to be the favorite in a race where the purse is $1.25 million and the winner gets 100 points for the Derby. She can absolutely win. The Fantasy goes for $600,000.

And while Lukas says the horse, no matter how she performs in the Arkansas Derby, is still being pointed for the GI Kentucky Oaks, don't believe him for a minute. If she wins the Arkansas Derby, she'll run in the GI Kentucky Derby. Lukas is too much of a swashbuckler not to take that chance. This is right out of his play book.

A filly last ran in the Derby in 2010 when Devil May Care (Malibu Moon) finished 10th. In 2016, Churchill went to a new system, awarding qualifying points in traditional preps for the race rather than going by earnings in graded stakes races. That meant that a filly had to run in a prep against males to have any chance of making it into the Derby field. Up until now, no one has even tried.

Enter Lukas. He didn't become one of the greatest trainers of all time by being timid.

He won the 1984 Arkansas Derby with the filly Althea, who came into that race just seven days after winning the Fantasy. It was the last time a filly won the Arkansas Derby. She didn't fare well in the Kentucky Derby, she was 19th. But she was there. In 1988, he sent Winning Colors from the GI Santa Anita Oaks straight to the GI Santa Anita Derby, which she won. Four weeks later, she became only the third filly in history to win the Kentucky Derby. Lady's Secret ran against males seven times and beat them in the 1986 GI Whitney H., a win that helped her secure the Horse of the Year title. Serena's Song won the 1995 GII Jim Beam before running 16th in the Derby, the fourth Lukas-trained filly to start in the race. She went on to win the 1995 GI Haskell Invitational. In 1996, she missed by just a neck when second in the Whitney.

Secret Oath, a late developer, didn't hit her stride until she got to Oaklawn. She won a Dec. 31 allowance there by 8 1/4 lengths and then won the Martha Washington S. by 7 1/4. Next up was a start in the GIII Honeybee S. and she crushed them again, winning by 7 1/2 lengths.

Maybe she's not as good as a Winning Colors or a Lady's Secret, but she doesn't have to be…particularly when it comes to winning the Arkansas Derby. Many of the starters will be coming out of the GII Rebel, which was a mess. It was won by 75-1 shot Un Ojo (Laoban) and the odds-on favorite from the Baffert stable, Newgrange (Violence), was a dull sixth. The Rebel went in 1:45.69 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth. Six races earlier in the Honeybee, Secret Oath went almost a second faster, in 1:44.74.

In T.D. Thornton's latest Derby Top 12, not a single confirmed Arkansas Derby starter made the list.

Among the colts eyeing the Derby, there are no stand outs, no one to fear. The best horse may be Baffert's Messier (Empire Maker) and, due to Baffert's problems, he may not be in the field. There's also the Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) factor. Last year's Eclipse Award-winning juvenile filly champ will make her 3-year-old debut Saturday at the Fair Grounds in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. If she picks up right where she left off she might just be better than any of the colts eyeing the Derby.

Then there's the “what's best for the game” angle. During a prolonged period where scandals have dominated the headlines, the sport could really use a feel-good story. To see a revered icon attempt to win the Kentucky Derby, 23 years after he last won the race and to do so with a filly at age 86, is something everyone can rally around. This could be Lukas's last chance, and he appears ready to go for it. Good for him.

Speaking Of Old-Timers…

How about Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kid) winning a $500,000 graded stakes race at age nine? The veteran pulled off the feat Saturday at Oaklawn when winning the GIII Essex H. by 2 1/4 lengths.

Owner Danny Caldwell and trainer Federico Villafranco took a big chance last year when claiming the horse for $50,000 as an 8-year-old. But he's more than paid them back. He's won four times since and earned $300,000 in the Essex for the richest win of his career. Rated R Superstar won his first graded stakes way back in 2016 when he captured the GIII Carry Back S. at Oaklawn. He's won six stakes races, including the 2019 Essex, which was ungraded that year. He'll go next in the GII Oaklawn H. Apr. 23.

The New Arlington Million

People love to hate Churchill Downs, but when they do something right they should be recognized for it. The announcement last week that Churchill will hold a one-day meet Aug. 13 and will host the GI Arlington Million, the GI Beverly D. S. and the GII Secretariat S. was a welcome one. Yet, it was met with a lot of negativity.

Chris Block, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents horse owners and trainers, told nbcchicago.com that the Million's move “is another reminder that Churchill Downs shuttered Arlington Park and abandoned Illinois horse racing, compromising hundreds of jobs throughout our state.”

Yes, it would be much better if Arlington Park were still open and hosting those races, but that was not going to happen. The only alternative to the Million being run at Churchill was that it wouldn't be run at all. This is better. The sport can't easily afford losing such a historic race.

The Million, by the way, hasn't always been run at Arlington. With Arlington in the process of being rebuilt after the fire, it was run at Woodbine in 1988.

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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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“Yeah, I guess so,” Oaklawn's four-time leading owner said. “That's probably not been done much.”

Caldwell struck again with millionaire Rated R Superstar ($53.80), who collared front-running Mucho on the outside near the wire to win the one-mile race for older horses by a neck under David Cabrera. Caldwell also won the 2017 Fifth Season with another 9-year-old gelding, Domain's Rap, who, like Rated R Superstar, was making his seasonal debut in the race.

On behalf of Caldwell, trainer Federico Villafranco claimed Domain's Rap and Rated R Superstar for $10,000 and $50,000, respectively, the latter coming last January at Oaklawn.

“I was actually thinking about an allowance race for him this time, bringing him back off a layoff,” Caldwell said. “But he was doing so good and Freddy told me: 'He's doing as good as he's ever been doing in our barn, coming off the layoff.' He was fresh and seemed like he was ready.”

Rated R Superstar hadn't started since finishing second in a Sept. 11 allowance race at Remington Park. Caldwell said the gelding came out of the race with a minor splint bone issue, necessitating a short break from training. Rated R Superstar had five published workouts since Dec. 2, the last two coming at Oaklawn, in advance of the Fifth Season.

Last entering the backstretch, Rated R Superstar zoomed past most of the field along the rail to reach contention at the half-mile pole. Rated R Superstar had to wait briefly on the second turn before Cabrera guided the gelding to the outside, three-wide, approaching the quarter-pole. Rated R Superstar wore down a stubborn Mucho in the short run to the wire (mile races at Oaklawn begin and end at the sixteenth pole).

Rated R Superstar's winning time of 1:37.16 was the fastest since the Fifth Season was shortened from 1 1/16 miles to a mile in 2020, when the race was split. Rated R Superstar ran sixth in the second division in 2020. The track was fast Saturday.

“The pace set up well for us and he's a late runner,” Caldwell said. “David made a good move on the backside here to get him up in there. We didn't want to get shuffled back and end up going 15-wide. So, he made that move up the rail and I'm thinking, 'I hope we didn't move too quick.' But I could tell he still had some horse. Luckily, they kept going and we had an opportunity down the stretch to run them down.”

The victory was the 10th in 57 lifetime starts for Rated R Superstar and raised his career earnings to $1,271,014. He is a five-time stakes winner.

Rated R Superstar has been an ATM throughout his lengthy career, bankrolling $518,367 and becoming a multiple Grade 3 winner in his first 30 starts for trainer Kenny McPeek. Rated R Superstar made 18 starts for trainer Cipriano Contreras after being claimed for $62,500 in November 2018 at Churchill Downs.

Highlighted by a victory in the $350,000 Essex Handicap for older horses in 2019 at Oaklawn, the gelding earned $363,656 before Contreras lost him to Caldwell almost a year ago. In nine starts for Caldwell and Villafranco, Rated R Superstar has made $388,991 and posted three victories, including the $175,000 Governor's Cup Stakes Aug. 20 at Remington Park.

“Amazing,” Caldwell said.

Oaklawn's two-turn stakes series for older horses continues with the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 12. Rated R Superstar has already started four times in the Razorback, finishing sixth for McPeek in 2018, third for Contreras in 2019, seventh for Contreras in 2020 and fifth for Villafranco last year.

“We'll see,” Caldwell said of another potential Razorback start. “He'll tell us.”

Rated R Superstar is a son of 2008 Oaklawn allowance winner and 2009 champion sprinter Kodiak Kowboy.

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“Just because they're eight or nine years old, doesn't mean they can't still run,” Caldwell said from the winner's circle.

Rated R Superstar was making his first start since September, and made a mid-race move from off-the-pace under jockey David Cabrera. Finding clear racing room in the center of the stretch, the son of Kodiak Kowboy ran down Mucho to complete a mile over the fast main track in 1:37.16. Thomas Shelby checked in third.

Sent to post as the 3-2 favorite, 2021 Rebel Stakes winner Concert Tour appeared to struggle around the far turn and was eased under the wire by jockey Joel Rosario. It was the colt's first start since the Preakness, as well as his first since being transferred to trainer Brad Cox.

Mucho, making his first start around two turns, went straight to the lead in the Fifth Season, pulling away to lead by as much as 1 1/2 lengths in the early going. Concert Tour was right there in second, tracking through fractions of 23.33 and 46.91 seconds, while Thomas Shelby came up the rail to join him down the backstretch.

Cabrera found a seam at the rail and sent Rated R Superstar through it midway down the backstretch, and brought the gelding into third on the inside. Thomas Shelby was challenging Mucho for the lead, while Concert Tour dropped back. Mucho repelled Thomas Shelby, but there was another challenger yet to come.

Swinging to the outside, Rated R Superstar saw the finish line and laid his ears back, eating up ground in the center of the track. Cabrera hit the wire a neck in front on Rated R Superstar, with Mucho and jockey Florent Geroux having to settle for second. Thomas Shelby was a close-up third, while it was several lengths back to Necker Island in fourth.

The remaining order of finish was: Silver Prospector, Snapper Sinclair, Atoka, Long Range Toddy, and Concert Tour.

Bred in Kentucky by Thorndale Stable L.L.C., Rated R Superstar was a $50,000 claim last January at Oaklawn. He's compiled a record of three wins, three seconds, and a third from nine starts for his new connections.

Rated R Superstar has significant back-class: he ran second in the G3 Iroquois and third in the G1 Breeders' Futurity in 2015, won the G3 Carry Back in 2016, the G3 Ben Ali in 2018, the $350,000 Essex in 2019, and the $175,000 Governor's Cup in 2021. Overall, the gelding has won 10 races from 57 starts and earned $1,271,014

The post Veteran Rated R Superstar Springs 25-1 Upset In Fifth Season appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“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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Caldwell won the 2017 Fifth Season with Domain's Rap, who was making his 9-year-old debut after being claimed for just $10,000 in November 2015 at Remington Park. Caldwell claimed Rated R Superstar for $50,000 last January at Oaklawn and has been rewarded, again, by another member of the elderly equine set.

Rated R Superstar, in eight starts for Caldwell and trainer Federico Villafranco, has bankrolled $298,991. Caldwell recouped his investment when Rated R Superstar finished second in the $500,000 Essex Handicap for older horses last March at Oaklawn. The gelding surpassed $1 million in career earnings in the Essex, was eighth in $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses last April at Oaklawn, an allowance winner in May at Prairie Meadows and captured the $175,000 Governor's Cup Stakes Aug. 20 at Remington Park, where Caldwell is the all-time leading owner.

“I'd been watching this horse for a long time,” Caldwell said Monday afternoon. “I liked him and I liked the way his running style was. Most horses that run at the end of the race, normally they take care of themselves. They're not like sprinters. They go out there and go all out. He knows how to take care of himself. He had a couple of bad races there at Turfway Park, where he didn't hit the board. I thought, 'You know, I'm just going to throw those two races out because that's a Poly track.' He just didn't like it. I think he had run in a Grade 2 before that at Keeneland and he only got beat three lengths, I think. I thought I would give him a shot for $50,000. We love older horses. The best horse I've ever had is Domain's Rap and he made me more than a half-million dollars, most of it as a 9-year-old.”

After winning the Fifth Season, then worth $125,000, Domain's Rap made his final four career starts later in the 2017 Oaklawn meeting. He won a $76,000 allowance race, was third to eventual 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner in the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses, second to eventual 2017 Met Mile winner Mor Spirit in the $250,000 Essex Handicap for older horses and second to Inside Straight in the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses. Inside Straight finished second to Domain's Rap in the allowance race. Domain's Rap retired with $880,850 in earnings during a 64-race career.

Domain's Rap spent most of his career in the allowance and stakes ranks in Illinois before tumbling down the class ladder and being claimed, but Rated R Superstar began his racing career as a promising Triple Crown prospect for nationally prominent trainer Kenny McPeek.

Rated R Superstar, in 2015, finished second in the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3) for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs, then third in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity Stakes (G1) for 2-year-olds at Keeneland. Breeders' Futurity runner-up Exaggerator won the Preakness in 2016. Rated R Superstar became a multiple Grade 3 winner for McPeek, earning $518,367 in 30 starts before being claimed by trainer Cipriano Contreras for $62,500 in November 2018 at Churchill Downs.

In 18 starts for Contreras, Rated R Superstar earned $363,656. The gelding ran third in the 2019 Razorback before winning the Essex, then worth $350,00, in his next start.

“That's amazing,” Caldwell said, referring to Rated R Superstar's money-making skills. “He's just a professional. He's professional racehorse is what he is. He knows his job, he loves his job, he loves to go out there and perform. I wish I had a barn full of horses like him.”

Rated R Superstar hasn't started since finishing second in a Sept. 11 allowance race at Remington Park. Caldwell said the gelding came out of the race with a minor splint bone issue, necessitating a short break from training. Rated R Superstar has five published workouts since Dec. 2, the last two coming at Oaklawn.

“We trained him on the wheel and just kind of brought him back slow,” Caldwell said. “He's come back really feeling good. We're hoping to have a good 9-year-old year with him.”

A son of 2009 champion sprinter Kodiak Kowboy, Rated R Superstar has a 9-10-8 record from 56 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,181,014. He has won from 6 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. Rated R Superstars is seeking his fifth career stakes victory in the Fifth Season, which has attracted two other millionaires in Snapper Sinclair for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and Long Range Toddy (Dallas Stewart). Also entered is Concert Tour, who won the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds last March at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The colt, unraced since the Preakness last May, is now with trainer Brad Cox.

“It's tough,” said Caldwell, Oaklawn's leading owner in 2014-2017. “It's not going to be easy.”

The projected nine-horse 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.

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.

The post ‘Wish I Had A Barn Full Of Horses Like Him’: Veteran Rated R Superstar Returns In Fifth Season Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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