HOT SPRINGS -- Filly sprinters get an opportunity to advance toward stardom at Oaklawn today.
The $100,000 Purple Martin Stakes for three-year-old fillies provides it. Post time for the Purple Martin, which is ninth of 10 races at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort and will cover 6 furlongs, is scheduled for 5:09 p.m.
Three of the nine fillies in the field are undefeated. Five have graded stakes experience. Three are graded stakes placed, a category led by Frank Fletcher's Frank's Rockette, trained by Bill Mott, a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Despite the graded class of Frank's Rockette's competition last summer and fall, Fletcher said he believes the Purple Martin's field surpasses the quality of her previous races.
"The best in the country in our class will be here [today]," Fletcher said. "We'll really get a test."
Frank's Rockette, the favorite in her five career starts, finished second in three consecutive graded stakes as a two-year-old. She was runner-up by a half-length in the Grade II 6 1/2-furlong Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 4, 2019. Four weeks later, she finished second in the Grade I 7-furlong Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga. She also finished second in her next start in the Grade I 1-mile Frizette Stakes on Oct. 16 at Belmont Park in Elmont N.Y.
A likely Purple Martin favorite, Frank's Rockette was a seven-length winner in the $75,000 6-furlong Any Limit Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., in her three-year-old debut on Feb. 22.
Fletcher, a North Little Rock-based owner of car dealerships, hotels and restaurants, said the time had come to run Frank's Rockette at Oaklawn. He said her entry was not affected by track closures around the U.S. as part of horse racing's role in the national response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We were going to come to Oaklawn for something," Fletcher said. "This is my home state, and I want to run at Oaklawn more than I do anywhere else."
Trainer Robertino Diodoro said the track closures will help increase the quality of Oaklawn's stake schedule through the final four weeks of the season.
"It's going to definitely change the look of a lot of the stakes, if not most of them," he said.
The Purple Martin's undefeated entrants are Hronis Racing's Edgeway, Jerry Ramsland's Bootytama and Highlander Training Center's Lexi on the Move, trained by Diodoro.
None impressed more than Edgeway in her first and only start, a 6-furlong optional-claiming win in 1:09.05 at Oaklawn on Feb. 29.
Jockey Tyler Baze rode Edgeway's previous start and is her listed rider for the Purple Martin.
"The first time I got on this horse, I was very excited, and she's doing great," Baze said. "It's a very good field, but I'm looking forward to riding my filly. She will be heard of down the road, that's for sure."
Poindexter Thoroughbred's Flat Out Speed was entered in the Purple Martin undefeated in three starts as a two-year-old but has not raced in seven months. Trainer Lynn Chleborad said the filly was not yet ready for a return and would be scratched from the field.
Chleborad joined a long list of trainers to express her gratitude for the ongoing opportunity to race despite the pandemic.
"I want to thank the management and the people who have gone out of their way to make it so we could continue to race," Chleborad said. "They've gone way up and over."
Three in the Purple Martin field, including Frank's Rockette and Edgeway, led through each call of their most-recent races. Diodoro said Lexi on the Move might benefit from a speed duel in front.
"I love the way it looks like there's so much speed in the race," Diodoro said. "It definitely helps us, for sure."
Novogratz Racing Stable's Ring Leader will return to one-turn racing after a fifth-place finish in Oaklawn's Grade III 1 1/16-mile Honeybee Stakes on March 7. Trained by Mac Robertson, Ring Leader won the 6-furlong Dixie Belle Stakes at Oaklawn on Feb. 15.
"There are some top fillies shipping in from a long way, but fillies run awfully well here," Robertson said. "I like her."
Fletcher said a look at the Purple Martin's past performances has him convinced a difficult task awaits Frank's Rockette.
"It's the toughest competition I've ever seen in this type of race," Fletcher said. "We raced at Saratoga and Belmont for a half-million dollars, and we didn't face nearly the horses that we're facing in this race."
RICK LEE’ S SELECTIONS
9 The Purple Martin. Purse $100,000, 6 furlongs, fillies, 3-year-olds
FRANK’S ROCKETTE*** finished second in two Grade I races closing out her juvenile campaign, and she ships from Florida on the heels of a powerful stake victory. EDGEWAY set an honest pace before quickly drawing clear in a promising career debut win, and she has the look of a filly who may be special. LEXI ON THE MOVE is unbeaten in a two-race career, but she will have to continue to improve to pull off an upset in this strong lineup.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
8 Frank’s Rockette Garcia Mott 5-2
4 Edgeway Baze Sadler 3-1
6 Lexi On the Move Cohen Diodoro 8-1
1 Kimari Smith Ward 4-1
2 Ring Leader Talamo Robertson 6-1
5 Bootytama Elliott Pearson 12-1
9 Kiss the Girl Rocco Asmussen 15-1
10 Wasabi Girl Vazquez Asmussen 15-1
7 Lady Glamour Burke Smith 15-1
3 Flat Out Speed Canchari Chleborad 20-1
Sports on 04/04/2020