HOT SPRINGS -- The best of the locals and shippers from all corners will draw the racing world's attention to Oaklawn Park today.
The $900,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes and its significance along the Road to the Kentucky Derby will highlight Oaklawn's 10-race program, no small feat on a card that includes the $350,000 Grade II Azeri Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up and the $300,000 Essex Handicap for horses 4-years-old and up. Those races are scheduled to conclude the afternoon, with a post time for the Essex of 4:55 p.m, followed by the Azeri at 5:32, and the Rebel at 6:09.
Bob Baffert's trainee Solomini has shipped in from California as the 3-2 morning-line favorite among the Rebel's 11 entrants.
"It's a nice race," said D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Rebel entrant Sporting Chance. "It really is. Very competitive."
Lukas is a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, along with fellow Rebel trainers Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert and jockeys Gary Stevens and John Velazquez.
"It's going to be an awesome race," trainer Ron Moquett said. "There's some really good horses in. There are some proven horses, proven winners, and it's just going to be a great race because, at the end of the day, there will be a new logical contender for the Kentucky Derby."
The Rebel will distribute 170 Road-to-the-Derby points to the first four finishers, with 50 to the winner, followed by 20, 10, and 5.
Solomini, a son of Curlin owned by Zayat Stables, will start for the first time as a 3-year-old in the Rebel. He last started Dec. 9 in the 1 mile 1/16 Grade I L0s Alamitos Futurity, which he won in 1:42.4 but was disqualified and placed third. His four career starts include a second-place finish to Good Magic in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
"He's sort of a lazy, grinder kind of horse, but he shows up in the afternoons," Baffert said. "That's one thing about him. He has a lot of heart."
Mourinho, also trained by Baffert, finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite in Oaklawn's Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 19. He was a possible Rebel entrant but was euthanized after he was severely injured Monday at Santa Anita.
"It's a shame," Baffert said.
Magnum Moon, a Malibu Moon colt owned by Robert and Lawana Low and undefeated in two starts, both in Florida, did not race as a 2-year-old and, despite no stakes experience, is the 7-2 second choice in the Rebel. He ran 1 mile, 40 yards in 1:39.0 in an optional-claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs in his last start, under Saez, on Feb. 15.
Whereas rain-soaked racing surfaces have been common this season at Oaklawn -- including for the Southwest when the field raced over a muddy track -- the National Weather Service predicts a 10 percent chance of rain and a high of 79 in Hot Springs today.
Asmussen said that might be good news for Zing Zang.
"He's as heavy a horse as I have in training, and I don't necessarily think that body type appreciates a quagmire," Asmussen said.
Zing Zang finished fifth in the Southwest. Asmussen trainee Combatant finished second and is 8-1 on the Rebel morning line, as is Title Ready.
Lukas trains Sporting Chance, by Tiznow, for Bob Baker and Bill Mack. Sporting Chance, winner of the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sept. 4, finished third in the Southwest and is the 5-1 third choice in the Rebel program. His Southwest result came after a five-month layoff and a troubled stretch run during which he and Combatant made significant contact.
"The nice thing is he took that hit and then tried to run again," Lukas said moments after the race. "I think his upside is great."
Others agree, including Moquett.
"Lukas' horse is very logical," Moquett said. "He ran very tough last race off the bench."
"I feel good where we're headed," Lukas said.
Sports on 03/17/2018