Thursday, January 10, 2013
HOT SPRINGS — Corey
Nakatani will ride Brown
Almighty in the $150,000
Smarty Jones Stakes on
Jan. 21 at Oaklawn Park,
according to Camden’s
Richard Robertson, the colt’s
co-owner.
Nakatani will replace
Kent Desormeaux, who
guided Brown Almighty to
a ninth-place finish in the
$1 million Grade I Breeders’
Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov.
3 at Santa Anita near Los
Angeles.
Trained by Tim Ice,
Brown Almighty will be
making his 3-year-old and
dirt debut in the 1-mile
Smarty Jones, which is
expected to attract a large
field.
Nakatani is now based
in southern California, but
he was Oaklawn’s second
leading rider in 2010.
“Corey wanted to ride
this horse in the Breeders’
Cup, but we had already
given the call,” Robertson
said. “Tim thinks he’s a good
fit for the horse.” Brown Almighty, who
is by champion Big Brown,
races for Tri-Star Racing
LLC (Robertson and Alan
Dean of Camden), Brent
Gasaway of Little Rock and
Joe Denson of Cleveland,
Miss.
Purchased for only
$22,000 in April, Brown
Almighty has earned
$114,000 with a 2-2-0 record
from five starts. His biggest
victory came in the $50,000
Sunny’s Halo Stakes on Aug.
4 at Louisiana Downs.
Also pointing for
the Smarty Jones are
Springboard Mile winner
Texas Bling, Pennsylvania
Nursery winner Officer
Alex and Springboard Mile
runner-up Will Take Charge,
owned by Willis Horton of
Marshall.
Trainer Donnie K.
Von Hemel said Best of
Birdstone, bred and owned
by Richard Hogue of Hope,
is a candidate for the Smarty
Jones.
Oaklawn racing secretary
Pat Pope said it’s too early
to know if the Smarty Jones
will be split because of an
expected rush to the entry
box.
Nominations close
Saturday.
Applauding moved Applauding, trainer Al Stall’s unbeaten 4-yearold filly, left Oaklawn on Wednesday morning for Palm Meadows Training Center in south Florida, where she will join trainer Michael Matz.
Glenn Brookfield, who oversees Stall’s Oaklawn division, said owner Ramona Bass decided to move the filly because of a “disagreement over a few things” with Stall.
“That was beyond unfortunate,” Brookfield said. “It’s a little hard to lose an undefeated filly, but we have had some setbacks and stuff.” Applauding set a 6-furlong track record (1:07.76) at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., in her October 2011 career debut and was a runaway winner of a firstlevel allowance race about six weeks later at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
But because of a serious illness, she didn’t start again until Nov. 21 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
Applauding was the headliner of Stall’s Oaklawn string and expected to compete in stakes events at the meeting.
Stall is based at Fair Grounds, but has horses at Oaklawn the first time since 2006 this year.
Final furlong Mezah, an unstarted 3-year-old half-sister to 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Birdand multiple Grade I winner Dullahan, could ship to Oaklawn late in the meeting but isn’t likely to run, according to her trainer, Dan Peitz. Mezah’s racing career has been delayed because of surgery to remove a bone chip from an ankle. ... Gentlemen’s Bet, a winner of his onlycareer start last January, is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s seventh race, an entry-level allowance sprint, for owner Harry Rosenblum of Little Rock. ... A field of seven is entered in Saturday’s $60,000 Dixie Belle Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 furlongs.
Sports, Pages 17 on 01/10/2013