winchell thoroughbreds | Horse Racing Free Tips

Hot Rod Charlie on to Derby

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) exited his win in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby in fine shape and will ship back to trainer Doug O'Neill's California base Tuesday to prepare for the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby.

“Charlie looked great this morning,” O'Neill said. “He flies back to California on Tuesday. I love the spacing [six weeks] leading up to the Kentucky Derby. It's ideal. He's proven to travel well. I'm very proud of my nephew Patrick [with co-owner Boat Racing]. He's a real good young man and I'm very excited for him and all of the owners.”

Hot Rod Charlie was second as a 94-1 longshot in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was beaten a neck when third behind Medina Spirit (Protonico) and Roman Centurian (Empire Maker) in the Jan. 30 GIII Robert B. Lewis S. before his front-running victory Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Louisiana Derby runner-up Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) will also be heading to Louisville.

“It was a big effort and he's another horse that's just going to continue to improve,” Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen said of the Winchell Thoroughbreds runner. “I don't think distance will be an issue with him and the timing back to the Derby off this series here, there will be plenty of time to freshen up and run his best race. We'll train here for a week and ship a week from Sunday [the 28th].”

Of O Besos (Orb)'s third-place effort Saturday, trainer Greg Foley said, “We all want to go forward after yesterday. The only question we had was the distance, and he answered that pretty good. He galloped out past the winner. We've got 25 [Derby qualifying] points. If we got second, we wouldn't have to think about it, but now we have to hope we get in. We just have to wait and see. I don't want to run him back [before the Derby]. I don't think it will affect our training. He's a dead-fit horse. We'll get him back home next week [to Churchill Downs] and we'll just wait and see. If it gets us in, great, if it doesn't, oh well, we'll go from there. I'd like to try and get in the big one and hopefully that will get it done. At least we're not wondering any more [about the distance].”

Favored Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was a lackluster sixth in the Louisiana Derby.

“We couldn't come up with any reasons for the dull performance,” trainer Brad Cox said of the beaten favorite. “We'll get him back to Kentucky, see how he trains, and then go from there. I've thought about it, but I think right now I'll probably nominate him to the [Apr. 10 GIII Stonestreet] Lexington [S. at Keeneland] and we'll see. He was done at the half-mile pole, so I don't think the distance was the reason. He ran out of horse fairly quickly. He handled everything in the paddock, so to show up and get beat by those horses we had run so well against, that was obviously disappointing.”

Cox was pleased with the effort of Travel Column (Frosted), winner of Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks.

“She came out of it good, scoped good, looked good,” Cox said. “I was super happy with her. She's had two races and that was our plan all along, to come down here and run twice and have a horse who is the third race off the layoff [in the GI Kentucky Oaks].”

Travel Column has been exchanging blows with Clairiere (Curlin) all winter and that filly also heads into the Kentucky Oaks after her runner-up effort Saturday.

“I love Clairiere stretching out to a mile and an eighth,” Blasi said of the Asmussen trainee. “The pace yesterday was very moderate and it really didn't benefit her running style. I thought it was an A-effort considering everything and she should move forward a lot off of it. With her breeding and her running style, the distance at Churchill should really benefit her.”

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Silver State Takes Essex Handicap For Fourth Consecutive Victory

Silver State rolled to his fourth consecutive victory for trainer Steve Asmussen on Saturday, winning the $500,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., from off the pace under Ricardo Santana Jr.

Rated R Superstar, an 8-year-old making his 50th career start and the 2019 Essex winner, finished second by a neck nder Ramon Vazquez, with Night Ops 1 3/4 lengths back in third and Harpers First Ride fourth in the field of six older runners. Tax, the 120-pound highweight, was scratched.

Silver State, a 4-year-old by Hard Spun owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, carried 118 pounds and ran the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.73. He paid $4.40 as the favorite, winning for the fifth time in nine career starts. He was bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings.

Harpers First Ride, making his first start for Robertino Diodoro after spending most of his career in Maryland, dueled with Green Light Go through fractions of :23.57, :47.67 and 1:12.22 while Silver State and Rated R Superstar raced at the rear of the field. Green Light Go retreated on the turn as the back markers began to gain ground on the turn and into the stretch.

Silver State had the jump on Rated R Superstar and maintained his lead throughout the stretch, passing the mile in 1:36.57 and holding sway for the victory.

“We had a beautiful trip,” Santana said. “I was in the position I wanted to be in. He relaxed really well for me and turning for home, he gave me a really nice finish.”

Silver State was on the Triple Crown trail early last year, finishing second in the G3 Lecomte and third in the G2 Risen Star Stakes at Fairgrounds. After a seventh-place finish in the G2 Louisiana Derby in March, he went to the sidelines. Silver State returned with a seven-length allowance victory at Keeneland in October, won a Churchill allowance in November and took the Fifth Season Stakes in at Oaklawn in January.

“It's a great partnership with the Hortons and Winchell Thoroughbreds,” Asmussen added. “They've done so much for me. This horse has always shown a lot of potential. We gave him the necessary time and he's come back to win four races. This was a very quality win today.”

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Silver State Chasing Fourth Straight Victory In Saturday’s Essex Handicap

Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's Silver State is the 2-1 program favorite for the $500,000 Essex Handicap for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the Essex, which goes as the seventh of 12 races, is 3:08 p.m. (Central). The Essex is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 17.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Silver State is bidding for his fourth consecutive victory after the son of Hard Spun fell off the Triple Crown trail following a seventh-place finish in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) last March at Fair Grounds. Silver State resurfaced last fall and recorded two allowance victories in Kentucky before capturing the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes by a nose Jan. 23 at Oaklawn in his 2021 debut.

“He's as beautiful as a horse can be,” Asmussen said. “For the Winchells and the Hortons to show the patience they did with him last year, they deserve to have a huge 4-year-old campaign with him and we expect it to happen.”

Among six other horses entered are Rated R Superstar and Night Ops, who won the Essex in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Rated R Superstar wheels back after finishing fifth behind Dubai World Cup-bound Mystic Guide in the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses Feb. 27 at Oaklawn. Rated R Superstar was making his first start since being claimed for $50,000 out of a Jan. 30 victory at Oaklawn by four-time local leading owner Danny Caldwell.

Night Ops finished third, beaten 3 ¾ lengths in the 1-mile Fifth Season, for Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. The Fifth Season marked the first start for Night Ops since winning the $100,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) July 5 at Prairie Meadows. Night Ops opened his 2020 campaign with a third-place finish in the first division of the Fifth Season.

“It was every bit as good as it was last year in that exact race,” Cox said. “I thought it was a good race off the layoff. He had been off a while. I thought he showed up and ran his race. Probably needs a little more ground and maybe a little bit better setup and, hopefully, he'll come back into form.”

The Essex also lured two starters from the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park in Tax (10th) and Harpers First Ride (12th).

Tax, a multiple graded stakes winner of almost $1 million for trainer Danny Gargan, returns to Hot Springs after finishing fifth in last year's Oaklawn Handicap.

Multiple stakes winner Harpers First Ride will be making his first start for Robertino Diodoro, Oaklawn's leading trainer last year, after being privately purchased before the Pegasus. Harpers First Ride (10 of 18 overall) has recorded two workouts at Oaklawn leading up to his local debut.

“He ran real bad, but he had some issues that came up that we fixed,” Diodoro said, referring to the Pegasus. “I don't know how he'll stack up with these guys, but there's good form on him. He's a nice horse.”

The projected seven-horse Essex field from the rail out: Uphold, Fernando De La Cruz to ride, 113 pounds, 20-1 on the morning line; Harpers First Ride, David Cohen, 119, 4-1; Rated R Superstar, Ramon Vazquez, 114, 12-1; Tax, Joel Rosario, 120, 3-1; Silver State, Ricardo Santana Jr., 118, 2-1; Green Light Go, Francisco Arrieta, 116, 6-1; and Night Ops, Javier Castellano, 118, 3-1.

Also on Saturday's card is another stakes race for older horses, the $150,000 Temperence Hill at 1 ½ miles. The 3-1 program favorite is You're to Blame for trainer Ron Moquett and owner Staton Flurry of Hot Springs

The 7-2 second choice in the program is Campaign, who was runner-up, beaten a neck, in last year's inaugural running for Southern California-based trainer John Sadler. Campaign was the 3-2 favorite in the 2020 Temperence Hill.

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Fair Grounds: Midnight Bourbon, Mandaloun Expected To Point For Risen Star

Steve Asmussen's assistant trainer Scott Blasi reports that Saturday's Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner Midnight Bourbon came out of the race in fine order. Asmussen indicated following the win that the Winchell Thoroughbreds' 3-year-old son of Tiznow would be pointed to the $400,000 Risen Star (G2) at 1 1/8 miles on February 13 at Fair Grounds In New Orleans, La. Midnight Bourbon earned 10 Kentucky Derby points for his Lecomte win and is currently third in the standings with 16 points.

According to trainer Chris Block, Lothenbach's Stables' Silverbulletday Stakes winner Charlie's Penny also exited her Kentucky Oaks points race is excellent shape.

“So far everything looks good,” Block said. “She ate up last night and this morning, walked real well and she seems bright and not too knocked out. The next logical plan would be to point towards the Rachel Alexandra (G2, $300,000 at 1 1/16 miles on February 13 at Fair Grounds). What has pushed her forward is her mind and her determination. She's not a very big filly, king of average in size and a little bit on the narrow side, but all that is relative to what she can do herself. Yesterday she was helped by the (slow) pace, but so was everybody else, or so I would have thought. She rose to the occasion, now it's time to see if she can take the next step forward. It was really nice to win this race at Fair Grounds. My family used to send horses here for the winter with (the late) Richie Scherer, and management has been very kind to us.”

For her win, the Minnesota-bred daughter of Race Day earned ten points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Trainer Brad Cox reports that his pair of beaten favorites – Sun Path (fourth in the Silverbulletday) and Mandaloun (third in the Lecomte) – exited their respective races in good order. Sun Path will be given some time to regroup, while Mandaloun will likely get an equipment change next time out.

“I was super disappointed with the outcome of the Silverbulletday,” Cox admitted. “We don't see any physical issue with Sun Path. She appears to have come out of it well as of now. Obviously, we will back up a little bit. We won't run back in four weeks. We'll just try to train up to either the Honeybee (G3, March 6 at Oaklawn Park) or the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2, March 20). They would really be our only options moving forward. We need a little more time between races. She's going to be a little bit of a question mark until we run her again. She was doing so well leading up to this race (Silverbulletday).

“We still think he (Mandaloun) is a very good horse,” Cox said. “He raced wide around both turns. I thought it was a good experience. He showed up. He ran his race. I think we are going to add blinkers. I talked it over with the Juddmonte team and Florent (jockey Geroux). We kind of thought that ever since his first race. He came out it (Lecomte) so far so good. We will definitely look at coming back in the Risen Star.

“Gagetown raced well for his first time around two turns (second in a first level allowance earlier in the card),” Cox said. “Thought it was a good effort. Run was a little spotty. He was a little unsure of what was going on. It looked like he was going to be third, maybe even fourth, but he re-rallied and was actually running at the winner. He's still trying to figure it out. I wanted to get two sprints into him since he broke his maiden first time. I don't really think he's a 6-furlong horse, but I'm not so certain he's like a mile-and-an-eighth horse either. He's somewhere there in the middle.”

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