Whitmore won the biggest sprint race Nov. 7, 2020, at Keeneland, but Nashville won the fastest.
Now, more than 13 months after setting a 6-furlong track record on that Breeders' Cup undercard, lightly raced Nashville is scheduled to launch his comeback in an allowance sprint Friday afternoon at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and co-owners WinStar Racing and China Horse Club.
“It's just kind of a starting point,” WinStar President/CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden said Wednesday morning. “We want to get a race in him and see where we are. It looks like a good spot. There's some competitive horses in there and it will give us a good barometer.”
Nashville is among seven horses entered in the 5 ½-furlong eighth race, which has a $102,000 purse. Probable post time is 3:46 p.m. (Central). Nashville, to be ridden for the first time by Florent Geroux, drew the rail and is the 7-5 program favorite.
Nashville hasn't started since suffering his first career loss in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds Dec. 26, 2020, at Santa Anita. Charlatan, who captured the first division of the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) earlier that year at Oaklawn, won the 7-furlong Malibu, with Nashville finishing fourth, beaten 8 ¼ lengths.
“It's been a long road,” Walden said. “Sometimes, horses make you wait.”
Walden said Nashville had a small ankle chip removed following the Malibu. After resuming training last May, Walden said the 4-year-old son of Speightstown – Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and champion sprinter in 2004 – came up “a little off behind” and he was sent home.
“Nothing major, but had a couple of starts and stops this year,” Walden said, adding Nashville returned to Asmussen Sept. 10 and “hasn't missed a beat since then.”
Nashville has a long string of workouts at Churchill Downs and a half-mile maintenance breeze Monday morning at Oaklawn in advance of his comeback. Also entered in Friday's race are multiple stakes winner Mr. Jagermeister, the speedy Firecrow and Hollis, an allowance winner at 5 ½ furlongs last April at Oaklawn. Nashville dazzled in his first three career starts, winning by a combined 24 ¾ front-running lengths.
“You're always concerned about a layoff, but Steve knows how to handle these horses,” Walden said. “He said he's ready. Just looking forward to getting him back.”
Nashville posted Beyer Speed Figures of 91 for an 11 ½-length debut victory in September 2020 at Saratoga, 103 for a 9 ¾-length first-level allowance victory in October 2020 at Keeneland and 102 for a 3 ½-length victory in the $125,000 Perryville Stakes for 3-year-olds about a month later at Keeneland.
Under perennial Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr., Nashville won the Perryville in a track-record 1:07.89 after setting fractions of :21.54 for the opening quarter and :43.87 for a half-mile. The surface was fast. Oaklawn-raced A.P. Indian set Keeneland's previous 6-furlong track record (1:08.43) in the $250,000 Phoenix Stakes (G2) in 2016.
Roughly four hours after the Perryville, the first race on the card, seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner Whitmore captured the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) to secure an Eclipse Award as the country's champion male sprinter. Whitmore's winning time over a fast track was 1:08.61.
“We debated whether to go into the Breeders' Cup off of two starts,” Walden said. “Just felt like it was not a fair thing to do, to run a 3-year-old against top sprinters and older horses that had more experience and everything, so we opted for the path of least resistance. But after he ran, and ran so fast, I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you there was a hint of: 'I wish we had run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint that day.' ”
Nashville has won 3 of 4 lifetime starts and earned $175,200. He was purchased for $460,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
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