Jockey, 52, teams with Lukas, steps forwardly on Derby trail

Jockey Jon Court (right), aboard Oxbow, leads the pack in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 19 at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Court rode Oxbow to an 11 1/2-length victory and two days later went on to win the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs aboard Will Take Charge. Both horses are trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.
Jockey Jon Court (right), aboard Oxbow, leads the pack in the Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 19 at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. Court rode Oxbow to an 11 1/2-length victory and two days later went on to win the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs aboard Will Take Charge. Both horses are trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.

— Talk about a small world.

Waiting on a connecting flight to Little Rock on Saturday night at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport, jockey Jon Court said he was approached by some Arkansans who had been vacationing in the Caribbean.

The 5-foot-1, 112-pound Court said his conversation with the strangers began with the obligatory, “You look like a jockey,” before it took an unexpected turn.

Those same strangers lost in paradise, Court said,wanted to know who won the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes last Monday at Oaklawn Park.

“I said, ‘Well, you’re talking to the right guy,’ ” Court said. “That’s crazy.”

For the last few days, Court has been the right guy, teaming with Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas for three stakes victories, including two in major Kentucky Derby prep races.

Court rode Brad Kelley’s Oxbow to a front-running 11 1/2-length victory in the $200,000 Grade III Lecomte Stakes on Jan. 19 at Fair Grounds, then, two days later, Will Take Charge to a neck decision over Texas Bling in the Smarty Jones.

Court returned to Fair Grounds on Saturday and guided Kelley’s grass standout, Optimizer, to a front-running 31/2-length victory in his 4-year-old debut - the $125,000 Grade III Col. E.R. Bradley Handicap.

Court, 52, was already back at work on a foggy Sunday morning at Oaklawn, getting on horses during training hours.

“It’s pretty good when things are rolling like this,” Court said. “You hope it keeps going, you know. Good start to the year. I kind of hate being away from here and watching some of those horses run. But at the same time, it’s worth the trip.”

Lukas has already mapped out next-race plans for his Kentucky Derby prospects.

Oxbow, a son of 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again, will return to Fair Grounds for the $400,000 Grade II Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 23.

Lukas said Will Take Charge, an Unbridled’s Song colt owned by Willis Horton of Marshall, will remain at Oaklawn and run in the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 18.

“They’re both definitely great-feeling horses,” Court said. “Oxbow flows a little more fluidly, whereas Will Take Charge is a big, strong strapping horse that, even in size alone, he feels like he can intimidate other horses. I loved him from the first day I rode him at Keeneland.”

Horton purchased Will Take Charge, a half brother to 2012 Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy, for $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Will Take Charge broke his maiden Oct. 18 at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

In his final start last year, Will Take Charge finished second, beaten 13/4 lengths by Texas Bling, in the $300,000 Springboard Mile on Dec. 9 at Remington Park in Oklahoma City.

Victor Lebron rode Will Take Charge in the Springboard Mile, but Court regained the mount for the Smarty Jones.

“You want to be on the same team with the Coach,” said Court’s agent, Steve Krajcir of Hot Springs, referring to Lukas. “He is on fire.”

Court rode Optimizer to a ninth-place finish in last year’s $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby, ending the jockey’s bid to become the first rider to win the race three consecutive times.

But with potential rides on Will Take Charge and Oxbow, three out of four doesn’t sound bad, Court said.

“That would be awesome,” Court said. “And believe me, that goes through my mind quite often.”

Road to Kentucky points standings

HORSE (PTS)

Shanghai Bobby (24)

Goldencents (24)

Oxbow (11)

Violence (10)

Itsmyluckyday (10)

Overanalyze (10)

Upcaptured (10)

Power Broker (10)

Steeler (10)

Will Take Charge(10)

River Seven (10)

Den’s Legacy (6)

Tesseron (5)

Bern Identity (4)

He’s Had Enough (4)

Capo Bastone (4)

Dynamic Sky (4)

Know More (4)

Texas Bling (4)

Fury Kapcori (4)

Artigiano (4)

Normandy Inv. (4)

Frac Daddy (4)

Golden Soul (4)

Fortify (3)

Mylute (2)

Java’s War (2)

Clearly Now (2)

Indiano Jones (2)

Always in a Tiz (2)

SOURCE Churchill Downs

NOTE Oxbow, Will Take Charge and Texas Bling are based at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. Den’s Legacy is owned by Westrock Stables LLC (Joe and Scott Ford of Little Rock).

Sports, Pages 13 on 01/28/2013

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