Oaklawn Park report

— Gearing up for the Southwest

Texas Bling completed major preparations for the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 18 at Oaklawn Park with a 5-furlong workout Saturday morning.

Working after the break to renovate the racing surface, Texas Bling covered the distance in 1:02.60 under Cliff Berry.

Trainer Danele Durham said she was pleased with what she called a “little maintenance” move.

“We’re going to go into the race fresh,” Durham said.

“Tightened him up today a little bit. I told Cliff to keep a lot of gas in the tank and get ready for Monday.”

In his last start, Texas Bling was beaten a neck by Will Take Charge in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 21.

Also working Saturday for the 1 1/16-mile Southwest was Arkansas-owned Brown Almighty, who covered 5 furlongs in 1:00.40.

The time ranked second out of 71 works recorded at the distance.

“Great,” trainer Tim Ice said, describing the work.

Brown Almighty, who also worked after the break, recorded splits of :11.80, :24, :36 and galloping out 6 furlongs in 1:13.60.

Ice said Terry Thompson will ride Brown Almighty for the first time in the Southwest.

Brown Almighty finished fifth in the Smarty Jones, but came out of the race with a severe lung infection, Ice said.

Three starters for the $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes for older fillies and mares all worked 5 furlongs Saturday.

Don’t Tell Sophia went in1:00.60, Tiz Miz Sue in 1:01.40 and She’s All In in 1:01.60.

The little guys

Saturday’s nine-race card produced the first winners of the meeting for trainers Harold Williams and Karyn Wittek, who only have a handful of horses between them.

Williams, the grandson of the late Frances Genter, who owned 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, saddled Frannie G ($8) in the first.

Williams has three horses at Oaklawn.

Wittek won the fourth with Known Contender ($9), who was one of only two horses she had at Oaklawn.

Known Contender was claimed for $7,500 by trainer Larry Frazee.

Wittek also gets on horses in the morning for trainer Jinks Fires of Hot Springs.

Known Contender was ridden by the trainer’s son in-law, Jon Court. Wittek also co-owned Known Contender. In the house

Arkansas football Coach Bret Bielema attended Saturday’s races and watched the fourth race from track announcer Frank Mirahmadi’s booth.

Bielema was in Hot Springs to speak at the Ronnie Roach BSN Arkansas Football Coaches Association Clinic on Friday night at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.

UALR men’s basketball Coach Steve Shields was part of a huge winner’s circle picture following He’s Dangerous’ victory in the second.

Rulings

The Arkansas Racing Commission voted unanimously (4-0) during a regularly scheduled meeting Saturday to uphold a claim made earlier this month by trainer Kim Puhl on behalf of owner Jack Boggs.

Trainer Mike Maker originally won a three-way shake, or blind draw, with Puhl and trainer John Henry Prather of Hot Springs to claim Casper the Cat for $15,000 out of last Saturday’s second race.

But Maker’s claim, which was on behalf of owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey, was voided after it was discovered the trainer didn’t have foal papers on file in the racing office.

Since Maker had previously started a horse at the meeting, it been assumed that he still had foal papers on file and was eligible to make a claim.

Stewards requested another shake shortly after the error was discovered, and Puhl won the blind draw with Prather to claim Casper the Cat, a 3-year-old discreet cat colt.

But according to testimony during the 70-minute hearing, neither Puhl or Prather wanted to shake again or wanted Casper the Cat, who, as the favorite in the race, came out of a wellbeaten fourth-place finish with a serious leg injury (bowed tendon).

Boggs protested the stewards’ decision in writing and asked the commission void the claim because Casper the Cat spent roughly 45 minutes after the race in the custody of trainer Nevada Litfin before being transferred to Puhl.

Litfin was acting as a representative for Maker, who has strings in Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana, at the time of the claim.

There was no evidence of any wrongdoing when Casper the Cat was in the custody of Litfin, according to a stewards’ report.

Association steward John Ferrara told the commission that once a claim slip is dropped, claimants can’t change their mind.

Hot Springs attorney Larry Honeycutt, who represented Boggs at the hearing, said he wasn’t sure if the owner will appeal the commission’s decision.

Casper the Cat had been owned by David Harrington and trained by Chris Richard. Final furlong

Flashy Pearl was disqualified from fifth to sixth for drifting out and interfering with Renegade Band in the stretch of the first race.

... Favored Unstoppable U was a front-running 1 1/4-length winner of Saturday’s fifth race, a second-level allowance/optional claimer for older horses at 1 1/16 miles.

Late-running Najjaar, in his 4-year-old debut, was second.

At a glance

DAY 17 ATTENDANCE 14,926 ON-TRACK HANDLE $1,101,912.40 OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,288,522.67 TOTAL HANDLE $3,390,435.07 CLASSIX CARRYOVER $10,809.86 SATURDAY’S STARS Jon Court and Dave Mello each rode two winners. 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 Oak lawn lots ($2); reserved seats ($4.50); programs ($2). Daily Racing Form on track ($5, $6.50); tip sheets ($2-$5)

Simulcast schedule

Tampa Bay Downs (11:25 a.m.), Aqueduct (11:30 a.m.), Gulfstream Park (11:45 a.m.), Fair Grounds (1 p.m.), Santa Anita (2:30 p.m.), Golden Gate Fields (2:45 p.m.)

WAGERING MENU

Win, place, show (all races)

Exacta (all races)

Trifecta (all races)

Superfecta (races 4 and 6 and last race)

Daily double (first two races, last two races)

CLASSIX (races 3-8)

Pick-3 (begins with races 4, 5 and 7 on nine-race cards)

Pick-4 (begins with race 6 on nine-race cards and race 7 on 10-race cards)

Sports, Pages 27 on 02/10/2013

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