Oaklawn Park report

Race starts before filly put in gate

HOT SPRINGS - All wagers involving Reagan Trinity were refunded after the 4-year-old filly was left behind the starting gate when the horses broke for the first race Thursday afternoon at Oaklawn Park.

Equibase representative Jeff Taylor, a Perryville native and longtime Oaklawn chart caller, said Reagan Trinity was treated as a scratch for Equibase purposes. Taylor called Thursday’s incident a “rare” event in racing.

Reagan Trinity, trained by Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg, was scheduled to be the last horse loaded - from post 9 - in the nine-horse field. But she was still behind the gate when starter Terry Walker released the field for the 1 1/16-mile race for $16,000 Arkansas-bred filly and mare claimers.

David Longinotti, Oaklawn’s director of racing, said he’s “pretty sure” the scenario has occurred before at Oaklawn.

Win, place and show wagering on Reagan Trinity totaled almost $25,000.

Jennifer Hoyt, Oaklawn’s media relations director, said $8,400 was refunded to ontrack players. Reagan Trinity was the 5-2 second choice at post time.

Van Berg, on behalf of owner Leroy Bowman, had claimed the filly out of her last start for $16,000 on Feb. 27.

Grisham update

Retired Daily Racing Form columnist Don Grisham was moved to a rehabilitation facility in Hot Springs on Thursday morning, according to friends.

Grisham, 83, suffered a stroke following last Thursday’s Oaklawn card.

Grisham was initially transported to Mercy Hospital Hot Springs before being airlifted to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock in serious condition, Oaklawn officials said.

Grisham, a Hot Springs native and Henderson State graduate, was a Daily Racing Form columnist for more than 30 years before retiring in the 1990s. He later was a member of Oaklawn’s media relations department.

Heading west

Delta Flower, winner of Saturday’s $75,000 Rainbow Miss Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies, is moving to Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer in California, co-owner Richard Robertson of Camden said.

Delta Flower made her final start for trainer Stanley Roberts of Forrest City in the Rainbow Miss.

Robertson, one of four partners in Delta Flower, said he believes the filly will be flown to California next week.

Robertson said Delta Flower’s next start has yet to be decided, but she was bought with the intent of winning a graded stakes race, possibly around two turns.

“We think this is a good fit,” Robertson said, referring to Hollendorfer. “He’s got a good track record with fillies and mares.”

Roberts, who also owned Delta Flower and bred her in partnership with Bill Morrison of Camden, sold the filly privately March 15, a week after she broke her maiden against open company.

The deal was brokered by Mark Cornett of Naples, Fla., who heads USA Thoroughbred Racing Management, LLC, which uses a hedge-fund philosophy to purchase horses believed to be undervalued - mostly fillies and mares - and maximize their value before selling them at auction.

Delta Flower has won 2 of 3 career starts - all sprints at the meeting.

Sophia’s choice

Multiple stakes winner Don’t Tell Sophia will miss the $600,000 Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap for older fillies and mares April 11 because of a lingering foot problem, trainer/co-owner Phil Sims said Thursday morning.

Don’t Tell Sophia ran third in last year’s Apple Blossom and won Oaklawn’s Pippin Stakes and Bayakoa Stakes the past two years.

“Tough pill to swallow, but she’s been good to us,” Sims said.

Sims said Don’t Tell Sophia has had foot problems in the past and suffered a quarter-crack, or vertical split of the hoof wall, before a third-place finish in the $200,000 Grade II Azeri Stakes on March 15, the final major local prep for the Apple Blossom.

Don’t Tell Sophia ran with a protective bar shoe on her right front foot in the Azeri, but Sims said she was fit enough for the 1 1/16 race.

Conversely, Don’t Tell Sophia hasn’t had a workout since the Azeri, and has only been jogging leading up to the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom, Sims said.

“She just needs a little more time,” Sims said.

“Just having nagging foot problems. Timing is everything.”

Sims said Don’t Tell Sophia could make her next start in the $300,000 Grade I La Troienne Stakes on May 2 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Talk Derby to me

Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope said at least a half-dozen 3-year-olds were under consideration early Thursday afternoon for the $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby on April 12.

Among the horses scheduled to run are the 2-3-4 finishers from the $600,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes on March 15 and unbeaten Bayern, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Tapiture, Ride On Curlin and Strong Mandate, who ran 2-3-4, respectively, in the Rebel will have new riders in the Arkansas Derby.

Joel Rosario will ride Tapiture, replacing Ricardo Santana Jr.; Jon Court will ride Ride On Curlin, replacing Kent Desormeaux; and Strong Mandate will be ridden by Luis Saez, who replaces Rosario.

Santana, 21, has ridden Tapiture in his last five starts, including a victory in the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 17. Rosario won the 2013 Kentucky Derby aboard Orb.

“We’re fine with it,” said Santana’s agent, Ruben Munoz. “Glad to be part of his success.”

Tapiture, in company, worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.80 on Monday morning. Strong Mandate worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.80 on Tuesday morning.

Saez is also the regular rider of champion Will Take Charge, who is scheduled to run in the $600,000 Grade II Oaklawn Handicap on April 12.

Also pointing for the Arkansas Derby are Conquest Titan and Commissioner, Pope said.

Rulings

Stewards have disqualified Dee’s Baby from a Feb. 27 victory, and fined her trainer, Stanley Roberts of Forrest City, $1,000 after the 3-yearold filly tested positive for a prohibited racing substance.

Stewards also ordered the purse redistributed (Dee’s Baby is unplaced), but the ruling doesn’t affect pari-mutuel payoffs for the $16,000 maiden-claiming sprint for Arkansas-bred fillies and mares.

According to a ruling released Thursday afternoon, Dee’s Baby tested positive for betamethasone, a corticosteroid that can be used to treat joint inflammation.

The ruling was based on a report from Truesdail Laboratories of Tustin, Calif., the official chemist of the Arkansas Racing Commission.

Roberts requested a split blood sample be sent to a testing laboratory at LSU, which confirmed the presence of betamethasone.

Roberts appeared before stewards and waived his right to a hearing, the rulingsaid.

In another ruling released Thursday afternoon, stewards suspended jockey Dave Mello three days (April 10-12) for an incident in Saturday’s third race.

Mello was cited for allowing his mount, Shakin Sugar, to drift in near the half-mile pole, causing Wonderworkinpower “to steady to avoid clipping heels and lose all chance,” according to the ruling.

Shakin Sugar was disqualified from second and placed last in the 5 ½ -furlong race for $7,500 filly and mare claimers.

State steward Stan Bowker said he doesn’t believe Mello will appeal the ruling. Mello is Oaklawn’s second-leading rider this year with 33 victories.

Final furlong

The track was rated fast for Thursday’s nine-race card. There was no rainfall.

… Kid Rockette, owned by Staton Flurry of Hot Springs, won Thursday’s fifth race to give high-percentage trainer Brad Cox his fifth victory in the past three racing days. … Five of the 11 horses in Thursday’s fifth race, including Kid Rockette, were claimed for $5,000. … Franks Officer Gal won Thursday’s sixth race, a starter-allowance sprint for older fillies and mares, for her third consecutive victory since being claimed for $7,500 by trainer Paul Holthus on Feb. 15. She races for the N P H stable of Holthus and wife Nancy and Bob and Bridget Summers of Hot Springs.

Paul Holthus is 8 for 23 (34.8 percent) since he made his training comeback - after a near-two decade absence - at the meeting. … Rose to Gold arrived Monday for the $600,000 Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap on April 11. She won last year’s Fantasy at Oaklawn.

At the post

DAY 46 ATTENDANCE 3,236 ON-TRACK HANDLE $327,423.60 OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,711,734.19 TOTAL HANDLE $3,039,157.79 CLASSIX CARRYOVER None.

THURSDAY’S STARS Ken Tohill, Jon Court and Jesus Castanon all rode two winners.

TODAY’S TIMES First post for the 10 races is 1:30 p.m. Gates open at 11 a.m. TELEVISION HRTV (races 7-10), TVG (full card). Oaklawn Replay Show (8 p.m., Resort Cable Channel 5, Hot Springs; 11 p.m., KARZ, Channel 42, Little Rock).

PRICES Admission $2. Parking in Oaklawn lots $2. Reserved seats $2.50. Programs $2. Daily Racing Form $5, $6.50, $7.50. Tip sheets $2-$5.

Today’s simulcasting schedule Tampa Bay Downs (11:25 a.m.), Calder (11:55 p.m.), Gulfstream Park (12:05 p.m.), Keeneland (12:05 p.m.), Pimlico (12:10 p.m.), Aqueduct (12:20 p.m.), Hawthorne (1:50 p.m.), Golden Gate Fields (2:45 p.m.), Santa Anita (3 p.m.), Penn National (5 p.m.), Wheeling (5:45 p.m.), Charles Town (6 p.m.), Southland (7:30 p.m.).

TODAY’S WAGERING MENU

Win-place-show, exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagering offered on all races

Daily double (races 1-2, 9-10)

CLASSIX (races 3-8)

Pick-3 (rolling begins with race 2)

Pick-4 (races 2-5, races 7-10)

Sports, Pages 24 on 04/04/2014

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