Ricardo Santana | Horse Racing Free Tips

Promising Sophomore Cazadero Headlines Saturday’s Gazebo Stakes At Oaklawn

Grade 3 winner Cazadero is the 9-5 program favorite for the $150,000 Gazebo Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters Saturday at Oaklawn.

The Gazebo headlines an 11-race card, with probable post time 5:52 p.m. (Central). The 6-furlong Gazebo is the 10th race. Racing begins Saturday at 1 p.m., and the infield will be open, weather permitting.

Cazadero, who races for his breeder, Stonestreet Farm, and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, will be making his first start since finishing fifth as the favorite in the $150,000 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) Aug. 7 at Saratoga. Stablemate Jackie's Warrior won the Saratoga Special and was runner-up in voting for an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male.

In his first two starts, Cazadero was a front-running 8 ¾-length winner of his May 29 debut at Churchill Downs, then captured the $100,000 Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) by 4 ¾ lengths June 27 at Churchill Downs.

A son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, Cazadero has been ridden in his three races by seven-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr.

“Cazadero showed a lot of promise,” Santana said. “So glad to be back on him.”

Cazadero has been based this winter at Fair Grounds. Asmussen will also send out unbeaten Jaxon Traveler (3 for 3), who hasn't started since winning the restricted $100,000 Maryland Juvenile Futurity Dec. 5 at Laurel.

Both Cazadero and Jaxon Traveler will be racing on Lasix for the first time Saturday.

The projected six-horse Gazebo field from the rail out: Sir Wellington, Alex Canchari to ride, 119 pounds, 7-2 on the morning line; Dusty Hill, Terry Thompson, 117, 8-1; Lock Up, David Cabrera, 117, 10-1; Jaxon Traveler, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 5-2; Game Day Play, Ramon Vazquez, 119, 3-1; and Cazadero, Ricardo Santana Jr., 119, 9-5.

Sir Wellington won the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes Dec. 12 at Fair Grounds and exits a runner-up finish behind unbeaten Swiftsure – another Asmussen trainee – in a Jan. 23 allowance race at Oaklawn. Sir Wellington finished second to Jaxon Traveler, beaten four lengths, in a first-level allowance race Oct. 23 at Laurel.

“He runs good all the time,” said Mac Robertson, who trains Sir Wellington for Extreme Racing Stables LLC (Vickie McGowan). “I thought he ran a good race last time. A couple of Asmussen's look a little better on paper, but we'll see how we do.”

Asmussen is seeking his second Gazebo victory and 93rd career Oaklawn stakes triumph.

Game Day Play, who is trained by Bret Calhoun, won the $60,000 Clever Trevor Stakes Oct. 30 at Remington Park.

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Jockey Rocco Bowen Getting ‘In The Zone’ At Oaklawn Park

Mile races at Oaklawn occasionally trick riding newcomers since those races end at the sixteenth pole.

Add Barbados native Rocco Bowen to the list, but his ending was a treat. Taking no chances in last Saturday's sixth race, Bowen guided Background ($70) to a noteworthy 1 ¾-length victory for trainer Mike Puhich in the $88,000 second-level allowance event for older horses.

“I rode four or five jumps after the wire,” Bowen said during training hours last Sunday. “(Ricardo) Santana was like: 'Stop! Stop! Stop! Rocco, stop, you're going to get fined.' But I was like so in the zone. I wanted to make sure the job was done – sealed, packaged and delivered.”

The victory, over a sloppy track with light rain falling, made Bowen, 31, the first Barbadian jockey to win a race at Oaklawn. Riding at Oaklawn for the first time this year, Bowen had been winless in 33 mounts at the meet, which was interrupted last month because of severe winter weather.

“I wouldn't say discouraged, I felt more like I was letting my agent down,” Bowen said, referring to his mentor, retired jockey Joe Steiner. “He took up a huge task to take my book when I came to Oaklawn, so I felt personally it was on me that I was letting him down and I wasn't putting my best foot forward. I wasn't putting my best foot forward to feed him and his family. It's the first time away from his 5-year-old boy. It's hard. I've been in that position, being away from my kids the first time. It's never easy. I had that in the back of my mind: 'What am I doing?' I'm taking away from his family. I'm not doing any good.”

A wicked left hook from Mother Nature added to Bowen's frustration. Arctic temperatures and heavy snow led Oaklawn to cancel eight live racing dates and 11 days of training in February. Not only did Bowen miss numerous chances to record his first victory, he gets on many horses each morning.

Bowen lives on Lake Hamilton and said much of his snow(cation) was spent driving to a nearby Kroger or gas station and venturing to the track to shedrow horses for trainer Norman McKnight to stay fit.

“I only missed like three days and then Mr. McKnight put me to work,” Bowen said. “It was surely one of the biggest snowstorms I've witnessed. I sent my mom videos, constantly, my family. I was like, 'Family, I thought you loved me. Where's the sunshine?' ”

Although Bowen cut his teeth in Canada, he became a riding star in the Pacific Northwest. He became the first Bajan jockey to win a riding title in the United States at the 2015-2016 Portland Meadows meeting and was champion jockey three consecutive years (2016, 2017 and 2018) at Emerald Downs in suburban Seattle before a debilitating arm injury in September 2018 cost him approximately 1 ½ years in the saddle. Bowen resumed riding June 4 at Belterra Park and a week later became the first Bajan jockey to win a race Churchill Downs (White Wolf for trainer Paul Holthus of Hot Springs). The purse was $24,000. Bowen said it was the trainer's wife, Oaklawn paddock analyst/handicapper Nancy Holthus, who reminded him last Saturday's pot was almost four times larger.

“Honestly, I didn't know the purse until I got back to the room, until one of my biggest fans, Nancy, said something to me,” Bowen said. “She said on top of me winning, it was a big purse. I said, 'Nancy, I was just hoping to win one.' It didn't matter the purse size because all purses here are big. Some are bigger than others. I was just hoping to notch one. It feels great.”

Bowen entered Thursday with 1,008 career North American victories, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. He was named on two horses Thursday at Oaklawn, including Frankies Moonshine for Paul Holthus in the fifth race.

The most famous rider produced by Barbados, a small Caribbean island northeast of Venezuela, is Patrick Husbands, an eight-time Sovereign Award winner as the outstanding jockey in Canada. Husbands is 0 for 11 in his career at Churchill Downs and never ridden at Oaklawn.

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Finite Headlines Saturday’s Chilukki Stakes At Churchill Downs

Winchell Thoroughbreds, Thomas Reiman, William Dickson and Deborah Easter's multiple graded stakes winning filly Finite tops Saturday's 35th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Run at one mile, the Chilukki is carded as Race 9 with a post time of 5:06 p.m. (all times Eastern). First post for the 10-race program is 1 p.m.

Finite, a 3-year-old filly by Munnings, was the narrow runner-up finisher behind Venetian Harbor in last month's $200,000 Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland. Previously, the Steve Asmussen-trained Finite was on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) trail after victories in the $120,000 Rags to Riches, $300,000 Golden Rod (G2), $150,000 Silverbulletday and $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2). Following her fourth-place effort in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Finite underwent minor ankle surgery but returned to Asmussen's stable a few months later.

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. has the call on Finite who will break from post position No. 2.

Among Finite's rivals entered in the Chilukki is Speedway Stable's Raven Run third-place finisher Grand Cru Classe. Trained by Bill Mott, Grand Cru Classe finished a half-length behind Finite in the seven-furlong Raven Run at odds of 20-1. The daughter of Bernardini has recorded three victories in just four starts including a narrow win in the $100,000 Weber City Miss Stakes at Laurel.

Tyler Gaffalione has the call on Grand Crue Classe and will break from post 3.

Also entered in the Chilukki is Fox Hill Farms' stakes winner Whoa Nellie. Trained by Larry Jones, Whoa Nellie is scheduled make her first start in more than nine months following a runner-up finish in the $200,000 Bayakoa (G3). The speedy daughter of Orb was in top form over the winter recording an impressive 2 ¾-length allowance score in December at Turfway and a dominating 4 ½-length victory in the $100,000 Pippin Stakes at Oaklawn in January.

Joe Rocco Jr. has the call on Whoa Nellie who drew post 4.

The other fillies and mares that entered the Chilukki are Scott Herbertson's 11-time winner Crazy Sexy Munny; Stonestreet Stables and LNJ Foxwoods' multiple graded stakes placed Gold Standard; Bluegrass Bred Racing and Breeding Farm's three-time winner New Roo; Ghost Hollow Farm's graded stakes placed Risky Mandate; and Matriarca's Chilean Grade I winner Sanenus; and Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable and Peter Deutsch's stakes winner Unique Factor.

The complete field for the Chilukki from the rail out (with jockey and trainer): New Roo (Brian Hernandez Jr., Tommy Drury); Finite (Santana, Asmussen); Grand Cru Classe (Gaffalione, Mott); Whoa Nellie (Rocco, Jones); Gold Standard (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox); Risky Mandate (Miguel Mena, Tom Amoss); Crazy Sexy Munny (Crystal Conning, Bill Morey); Unique Factor (Corey Lanerie, Peter Miller); and Sanenus (Rafael Bejarano, Michael McCarthy).

The Chilukki is named after the three-time Churchill Downs stakes-winning filly. Trained by Bob Baffert, Chilukki set two track records beneath the Twin Spires – her 1999 4 ¼ furlong debut performance in :51 and a scorching one-mile clocking in 1:33.57, breaking the 31-year track record in this event in 2000.

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Saturday Undercard: Nashville Sets Track Record, Spill Mars Second Race

The China Horse Club and WinStar Farm showed off a talented young sprinter in the opener on Breeders' Cup Saturday at Keeneland, sending out Nashville for a track record-setting victory in the $125,000 Perryville Stakes. The 3-year-old son of Speightstown ran six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:07.89, annihilating the previous record of 1:08.43 set by A.P. Indian in 2016.

(Note: the run-up for today's Perryville was 55 feet, while the run-up for A.P. Indian's previous track record-setting performance was 34 feet.)

Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., the 1-9 favorite Nashville grabbed the lead at the start and easily ran away from the field, setting fractions of :21.54, :43.87, and :55.61 without turning a hair. Santana never touched his whip down the lane, cruising under the wire an easy winner by about three lengths over Wild Wes.

Asmussen could have sent the colt to the Breeders' Cup Sprint later on the card, but elected to take an easier route with the inexperienced Nashville.

Bred in Kentucky by Breffni Farm, Nashville is out of the unraced Mizzen Mast mare Veronique from the family of multi-millionaires Giacomo and Tiago. Nashville was a $460,000 yearling purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September sale, and has gone undefeated in his first three starts by a total of over 20 lengths. His earnings now stand at $157,200.

The day's second race, the Lafayette Stakes, saw a spill at the top of the stretch mar the action when Absolutely Aiden broke down. Both Dinar and Strike That were also affected and unseated their riders, but galloped out unharmed and were corralled by outriders before being taken back to their respective barns. Trainer Cherie DeVaux Tweeted that Dinar was find other than minor abrasions.

Absolutely Aiden was loaded onto the equine ambulance.

All three jockeys affected by the incident escaped unharmed, and were checked out at first aid and approved to ride their remaining mounts. They are: Tyler Gaffalione (Dinar), Chris Landeros (Absolutely Aiden), and David Cohen (Strike That).

Midnight Sands also appeared to stumble over the stricken horse, and was eased down the stretch by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. He also walked off the track under his own power.

Sleepy Eyes Todd won the Lafayette for trainer Miguel Silva and jockey Joel Rosario.

In the third race, the Fort Springs Stakes, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Luis Saez teamed up with Merneith to defeat Motivated Seller by a neck at the finish. The 3-year-old filly is sired by American Pharoah.

Merneith has been a part of Baffert's recent medication controversy: after finishing second in the fourth race on July 25 at Del Mar, the filly returned a positive test for Dextrorphan, a cough suppressant.

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