Oaklawn Park report

Will Take Charge, with jockey Jon Court aboard, won the first big purse of the 2013 meeting with a victory in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 21 in Hot Springs.
Will Take Charge, with jockey Jon Court aboard, won the first big purse of the 2013 meeting with a victory in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 21 in Hot Springs.

— Anthony filly falls, put down

An unstarted 3-year-old filly bred and owned by John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs was euthanized after a freak accident during training hours Thursday morning at Oaklawn Park.

Phil Bauer, who oversees trainer Ken McPeek’s Oaklawn division, said May’s Chapel apparently broke her back when she flipped entering the track for a workout.

The mishap occurred near the 5 1/2-furlong pole and delayed training for about 30 minutes.

May’s Chapel remained on her side as she was treated by medical personnel. She could move her head but was unable to stand.

“Just bad luck,” Bauer said. “When she fell, she hit so solid that there was no movement behind. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t.”

An Arkansas-bred daughter of Storm and a Half, May’s Chapel had three published workouts this month at Oaklawn in preparation for her career debut.

Race fatality

Graceful Pass, a first time starter trained by Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, was euthanized after breaking down in the upper stretch of Thursday’s fifth race, a maiden-claiming event for 3-year-olds.

It was the meeting’s second race-related fatality.

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., who rode Graceful Pass, was thrown over the horse’s head and tumbled hard to the ground in the spill.

Santana, complaining of back pain, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs, where he was treated and released later Thursday afternoon.

Graceful Pass was owned by the nationally prominent Robert LaPenta, who campaigned the colt’s sire, champion War Pass.

LePenta bred Graceful Pass in partnership with Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, who also trained War Pass.

6th-race delay

Thursday’s sixth race, a 1-mile event for $15,000 filly and mare claimers, was delayed 13 minutes because of a mechanical problem involving the tractor that pulls the starting gate.

Oaklawn’s policy is to have two tractors in place for two-turn races.

A second backup tractor was summoned from the nearby maintenance building, but it required the hitch to be transferred from the original tractor.

Riders dismounted and horses circled behind the gate during the delay.

Still on hold

Calvin Borel had hoped to resume riding this week, but he has still not been cleared by doctors after being diagnosed with a broken wrist Jan. 8 - three days before the live season began.

Borel’s agent, Jerry Hissam of Hot Springs, said the jockey hopes to ride next week.

Borel needs one victory to become just the 26th rider in North America with 5,000.

Oaklawn and the city of Hot Springs still plan to distribute commemorative trading cards when Borel reaches the career riding milestone. The cards will be free to anyone at Oaklawn on the day Borel wins his 5,000th race.

Back to work

Will Take Charge breezed a half-mile in :48.80 on Thursday, the 3-year-old colt’s first work since his Jan. 21 victory in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes.

Will Take Charge worked at 7:30 a.m. - about a half hour after the track opened - and was caught in splits of :25.20 and :23.60.

Despite having to move around another horse in midstretch, Will Take Charge covered his final eighth in a lively :11.60 and galloped out 5 furlongs in 1:02.60.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Will Take Charge will make his next start in the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 18.

Ahead of schedule

Tiz Miz Sue is coming to hand so quickly that trainer Steve Hobby of Hot Springs said he’s planning to start the multiple stakes winner in the $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes on Feb. 16.

Hobby had originally targeted the $150,000 Grade III Azeri Stakes on March 16 for Tiz Miz Sue’s 6-year-old debut.

She took another step toward the Bayakoa with a 6-furlong bullet workout Thursday morning (1:13.60)under William Hollick, who is Hobby’s assistant.

“Her last two works have been as good as ever in her life,” Hobby said. “She worked awesome.”

Tiz Miz Sue ran second in last year’s Bayakoa before winning the Azeri, her third career stakes victory.

Alternation works

Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel had to call an audible, but millionaire and multiple stakes winner Alternation was still able to record a half-mile bullet workout (:48.40) Thursday morning under regular rider Luis Quinonez.

It was the third work back for Alternation, who hasn’t started since finishing sixth in the $500,000 Grade II Hawthorne Gold Cup on Oct. 6 at Hawthorne near Chicago.

Von Hemel said Alternation was about a quarter-mile away from beginning Thursday’s work when May’s Chapel, an unstarted 3-year-old filly, flipped and apparently broke her back after entering the track to work.

Von Hemel said Alternation was taken back to the barn during a delay of approximately 30 minutes because of the accident.

After Alternation returned to the track, he worked in company with an unnamed stablemate during the first half of the work, Von Hemel said.

Clockers caught Alternation’s final quarter mile in :24 and galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:02.20.

“Everything went like we planned, except for the delay,” Von Hemel said.

Von Hemel said Alternation won’t start before March 9, the date of the $150,000 Grade III Razorback Handicap.

Streak over

Leading jockey Robby Albarado snapped an 0-for-24 streak when he guided 3 favored I’m Cozy to a 4 /4-length victory in Thursday’s ninth race for $15,000 maiden-claiming fillies and mares.

Albarado hadn’t won a race since Cyber Secret’s easy second-level allowance score Jan. 21.

I’m Cozy was the 12th winner of the meeting for Albarado, who is riding regularly at Oaklawn for the first time since 2006.

He was Oaklawn’s leading rider in 1996 and 1997.

I’m Cozy was claimed out of her debut victory by trainer Kenny Smith.

Rulings

Stewards have fined trainer Joe Martin $100 for failure to notify the identifier that first-time starter Stormy Truth was racing as a gelding in Sunday’s ninth race.

Stormy Truth ran ninth in the sprint for $30,000 Arkansas-bred maiden claimers.

The Essex

Five older horses are entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Essex Handicap at 1 1/16 miles.

The field includes San Pablo, a recent arrival from south Florida for trainer Todd Pletcher.

A 5-year-old son of Jump Start, San Pablo has won 9 of 15 career starts, including two consecutive stakes races. He will be making his 2013 debut in the Essex.

Also entered are Skyring, Master Rick, Donoharm and Win Willy. Donoharm has won four consecutive races, including the $75,000 Fifth Season Stakes on Jan. 11.

Skyring was beaten a neck in the Fifth Season, while Win Willy finished a half-length farther back in third.

A victory Saturday would make Win Willy a millionaire.

Saturday’s fourth race, a second-level allowance sprint for older fillies and mares, will feature the 2013 debut of Georgie’s Angel, who will be trying to snap a seven-race losing streak.

Trained by Dale Romans, Georgie’s Angel won the $100,000 Grade III Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies in 2011 at Saratoga in upstate New York.

Also entered is Lady Diva Ga Ga, an impressive Jan. 17 entry-level allowance winner for trainer Phil Sims.

Day 11 at a glance

ATTENDANCE 2,970 ON-TRACK HANDLE $265,264.90 OFF-TRACK HANDLE $1,227,637.39 TOTAL HANDLE $1,492,902.29 CLASSIX CARRYOVER $13,242.15 THURSDAY’S STARS Trainers Chris Hartman and Donnie K. Von Hemel each saddled two winners.

Songs and Sonnets, a 4-year-old trained by Von Hemel, was a front running 8-length winner of the $55,000 second-level allowance feature for older fillies and mares in her dirt debut.

Songs and Sonnets is by Unbridled’s Song out of Bedanken, a multiple graded stakes winner of $539,629 for Von Hemel.

Like Bedanken, Songs and Sonnets races for owner/breeder Josephine Abercrombie.

TODAY’S TIMES First post for the nine races is 1:30 p.m. Gates open at 11 a.m.

TODAY’S TELEVISION HRTV (full card), Oaklawn Today replays (8 p.m., Resort Cable Channel 5, 11 p.m., KARZ, Channel 42, Little Rock, 11 p.m.) TODAY’S RADIO Oaklawn Morning Line (8:45 a.m., KVRE-FM, 92.9, Hot Springs Village) PRICES Admission $2; parking in Oaklawn lots $2; reserved seats $2.50 weekdays, $4.50 weekends; programs $2. Daily Racing Form on track $5, $6.50; tip sheets $2-$5.

Sports, Pages 26 on 02/01/2013

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