Rebel Stakes Barn Notes
John Greenhaw
Senior Member
Barn Notes - Wednesday, March 15
March 16, 2011
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Contact:
Rolly Hoyt, rhoyt@oaklawn.com, (501) 623-4411 ex. 498
Jennifer Hoyt, jhoyt@oaklawn.com (501) 623-4411 ex. 497
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The draw for Saturday's $300,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park is set for Thursday, and a full field was solidifying, thanks in large part by the arrival of two challengers from California.
A plane carrying George Bolton and Fog City Stable's The Factor and Batman Stable et al's Sway Away, the 1-2 finishers in the San Vicente Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Feb. 20, was due to arrive at Hot Springs Municipal Airport by late afternoon. Their presence ensures at least 13 horses will be in action in the major stepping-stone to the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) slated for April 16.
Here is a rundown of the expected field (as of Wed. morning), in alphabetical order, and their activity four days out from the 1 1/16th-mile contest.
Archarcharch, owned by Bob Yagos and now his wife Loval, walked the shedrow Wednesday following a 'bullet' workout Tuesday morning. The upset winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 21 is 2-for-4 for trainer Jinks Fires and will be ridden by Fires' son-in-law, Jon Court.
"Hes got a great mind," said assistant trainer Pat Tanner. "Hes got the kind of mind that can take him to the Derby."
Following his win in the one-mile Southwest, Yagos fielded multi-million dollar offers to buy the son of Arch, but the resident of Jacksonville, Ark., insisted the horse should stay with Fires, his trainer for more than 18 years.
Fires is also expected to saddle Bluegrass Jam for Patricia and Buddy Blass in that colt's first attempt at a stakes race. The Bluegrass Cat colt, who will team with jockey Michael Baze, also walked the shedrow Wednesday following his workout the previous morning.
With a 1-for-4 record and no earnings in a stakes, Bluegrass Jam was in danger of being excluded if more than 14 horses entered the Rebel, but now appears safely in the field. The colt broke his maiden last October at Hoosier Park in Indiana before being dispersed by WinStar Farm. He has finished second and third in two excuse-filled trips this year, each at the Rebel distance of 8 1/2 furlongs.
Pin Oak Stable's Alternation and McNeill Stables' Caleb's Posse each galloped over the Oaklawn strip for trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel.
Alternation, a son of Distorted Humor, is a two-time winner already this season and will be moving into his first stakes race. He will be ridden by Luis Quinonez
Caleb's Posse, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes in January, is trying to bounce back from a troubled fourth-place finish in the Southwest.
"They will just gallop, stand in the gate and school in the paddock this week," said Von Hemel. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Despite winning a stakes in his previous start, Caleb's Posse was 7-1 in the Southwest, while the winner Archarcharch scooted home at 14-1. Both are expected to offer big prices again Saturday despite their local bona fides.
"That happens every year," said Von Hemel. "When you train in the middle part of the country, it comes with the territory. The good thing is they get to go out on the racetrack and sort it all out."
Fingers are crossed, prayers whispered and wood knocked around the barn of trainer C.R. Trout daily as his team works to prepare Clint Gilchrist's Dreaminofthewin for the Rebel while keeping a quarter crack on one of the colt's hooves at bay.
The son of Successful Appeal managed to finish second in both the Smarty Jones and the allowance race won by Alternation Feb. 21 while battling the foot problem. The Kentucky-bred colt has two wins and three seconds in five starts and will have Oaklawn's current leading jockey Cliff Berry in the saddle.
"Things look good and we are ready to go," said Trout Wednesday morning after sending Dreaminofthewin for a 'two-minute lick' earlier in the training session. "We put him in a little bit of a different shoe. It's still a bar shoe, but so far it is holding up."
The hype has been significant for Elite Alex this year, but that stems from the 3-year-old son of Afleet Alex's breeding and connections. Owned by the Elite Alex LLC, there are shades of 2005 at Oaklawn with principals Chuck Zacney and trainer Tim Ritchey making it easy to recall the run the sire made through Arkansas that year en route to wins in the Arkansas Derby, Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1). Throw in jockey Calvin Borel, the winner of three of the last four runnings of the Kentucky Derby (G1), and the hype becomes justified.
Elite Alex has trained in a similar fashion to his sire as well, including a vigorous open gallop Monday and occasionally making two trips to the track each morning.
"He's fit. Now it's up to him to go out and prove that the hype is justified," said Ritchey.
Glint is hoping to accelerate into the 3-year-old picture off his third-place finish in the Mountain Valley Stakes March 5 in what was just his third career race and first start this year.
Racing for the TK Stables of Kevin and Tammie Hulse, the Sharp Humor colt won both his starts as a 2-year-old including a stakes race at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania last Sept. Bred by WinStar Farm, trainer Kellyn Gorder was able to secure Glint out of the dispersal sale held last November. Gorder once served as WinStar's farm trainer, helping with the early development of the Eclipse Award-winning operation's biggest stars, including 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
Glint worked Sunday morning and had an easy stamina-building gallop Wednesday morning for assistant trainer Hetta Steele. The colt will team with jockey Gabriel Saez for the first time Saturday.
Trainer Joe Petalino opened the lungs of Grade 1-winner and Southwest runner-up J P's Gusto Wednesday morning, sending the Successful Appeal ridging for a nearly two-mile gallop.
The winner of four straight as a 2-year-old including the Del Mar Futurity (G1) last August, J P's Gusto was bottled up until too late in the Southwest and had to settle for second-place. The Gem Stables color-bearer will again team with reigning Eclipse champion jockey Ramon Dominguez.
While trainer Tony Dutrow was in Ocala, Fla. at the OBS 2-year-olds in training sale, his crew was busily keeping J W Blue on edge for his Rebel run. The son of Sky Mesa walked the shedrow Wednesday after his blowout workout one day earlier.
J W Blue is 2-for-4 with a maiden-breaking win at Delaware Park last October and a snappy win over Bluegrass Jam in an allowance race Jan. 29, overcoming a slow start to score by 1 1/2 lengths.
The Elkstone Group homebred will have Joe Rocco Jr. back aboard Saturday.
Barry and Joni Butzow's Picko's Pride continues to please trainer Mac Robertson with his preparations, as does word that speedy horses from California are on their way to Hot Springs.
Fourth in the Southwest after falling nearly 20 lengths behind the early pace, the son of Cactus Ridge is expected to sit back again and make another closing run under jockey Isreal Ocampo.
"He did a lot in his work the other day," said Robertson after jogging Picko's Pride Wednesday morning. "If he closes like he did in his work, he's going to pass a lot of them."
A major 3-year-old race wouldn't be complete without a shooter from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and his Rebel hopeful Saratoga Red appears to have a spot safely in the field after a front-running debut maiden victory here Feb. 24. Preference is based on total earnings in non-restricted races, so a horse like Saratoga Red with only one start, is very much 'on the bubble' if the field goes past the maximum allowable 14 starters.
Owned by Robert Baker and William Mack, Saratoga Red is a son of Eddington and will head to the post under jockey Terry Thompson.
"He's been training great," said Lukas Wednesday. The colt breezed Tuesday morning, going a half-mile in 48 seconds. "We just need the numbers to work out to get in the gate."
Trained by Jeff Bonde, Sway Away will take up residence in the Lady's Secret barn alongside runners trained by Dutrow and Lynn Whiting. Joining the 1-for-3 son of Afleet Alex on the flight's manifest are Slew The Man, a contender for the $350,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 9, and Smiling Tiger, third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) now pointing toward the $200,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 14.
Jockey Garrett Gomez, the two-time Eclipse Award champion jockey in 2007-08, will be aboard Sway Away one year after guiding Lookin At Lucky to win the Rebel for trainer Bob Baffert.
This year Baffert and Gomez are on opposite sides as the three-time Derby-winning conditioner sends record-setting The Factor following in Lookin At Lucky's footsteps. Last year, Lookin At Lucky went on from his Rebel victory to win the Preakness and the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old.
The Factor will bed down in the same barn as Bret Calhoun's Oaklawn string. The son of War Front is two races removed from setting a track record for six furlongs at Santa Anita in his maiden win Dec. 26 and one race away from out-sprinting Sway Away by less than a length in the San Vicente at seven furlongs. The Rebel will be the first race around two turns for both the California shippers.
Jockey Martin Garcia, who emerged as Baffert's go-to rider last winter and went on to ride Lookin At Lucky to win the Preakness, will be aboard The Factor in the Rebel.
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Open 10 a.m. Every Day | Until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday | 4 a.m. Friday & Saturday
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Gambling Problem? Oaklawn Jockey Club encourages responsible wagering. If gambling is a problem for you
or someone you care about, help is available 24 hours a day. Call toll-free 1-800-437-1611 or 1-800-522-4700.
March 16, 2011
| More
Contact:
Rolly Hoyt, rhoyt@oaklawn.com, (501) 623-4411 ex. 498
Jennifer Hoyt, jhoyt@oaklawn.com (501) 623-4411 ex. 497
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The draw for Saturday's $300,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park is set for Thursday, and a full field was solidifying, thanks in large part by the arrival of two challengers from California.
A plane carrying George Bolton and Fog City Stable's The Factor and Batman Stable et al's Sway Away, the 1-2 finishers in the San Vicente Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Feb. 20, was due to arrive at Hot Springs Municipal Airport by late afternoon. Their presence ensures at least 13 horses will be in action in the major stepping-stone to the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) slated for April 16.
Here is a rundown of the expected field (as of Wed. morning), in alphabetical order, and their activity four days out from the 1 1/16th-mile contest.
Archarcharch, owned by Bob Yagos and now his wife Loval, walked the shedrow Wednesday following a 'bullet' workout Tuesday morning. The upset winner of the Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 21 is 2-for-4 for trainer Jinks Fires and will be ridden by Fires' son-in-law, Jon Court.
"Hes got a great mind," said assistant trainer Pat Tanner. "Hes got the kind of mind that can take him to the Derby."
Following his win in the one-mile Southwest, Yagos fielded multi-million dollar offers to buy the son of Arch, but the resident of Jacksonville, Ark., insisted the horse should stay with Fires, his trainer for more than 18 years.
Fires is also expected to saddle Bluegrass Jam for Patricia and Buddy Blass in that colt's first attempt at a stakes race. The Bluegrass Cat colt, who will team with jockey Michael Baze, also walked the shedrow Wednesday following his workout the previous morning.
With a 1-for-4 record and no earnings in a stakes, Bluegrass Jam was in danger of being excluded if more than 14 horses entered the Rebel, but now appears safely in the field. The colt broke his maiden last October at Hoosier Park in Indiana before being dispersed by WinStar Farm. He has finished second and third in two excuse-filled trips this year, each at the Rebel distance of 8 1/2 furlongs.
Pin Oak Stable's Alternation and McNeill Stables' Caleb's Posse each galloped over the Oaklawn strip for trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel.
Alternation, a son of Distorted Humor, is a two-time winner already this season and will be moving into his first stakes race. He will be ridden by Luis Quinonez
Caleb's Posse, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes in January, is trying to bounce back from a troubled fourth-place finish in the Southwest.
"They will just gallop, stand in the gate and school in the paddock this week," said Von Hemel. "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Despite winning a stakes in his previous start, Caleb's Posse was 7-1 in the Southwest, while the winner Archarcharch scooted home at 14-1. Both are expected to offer big prices again Saturday despite their local bona fides.
"That happens every year," said Von Hemel. "When you train in the middle part of the country, it comes with the territory. The good thing is they get to go out on the racetrack and sort it all out."
Fingers are crossed, prayers whispered and wood knocked around the barn of trainer C.R. Trout daily as his team works to prepare Clint Gilchrist's Dreaminofthewin for the Rebel while keeping a quarter crack on one of the colt's hooves at bay.
The son of Successful Appeal managed to finish second in both the Smarty Jones and the allowance race won by Alternation Feb. 21 while battling the foot problem. The Kentucky-bred colt has two wins and three seconds in five starts and will have Oaklawn's current leading jockey Cliff Berry in the saddle.
"Things look good and we are ready to go," said Trout Wednesday morning after sending Dreaminofthewin for a 'two-minute lick' earlier in the training session. "We put him in a little bit of a different shoe. It's still a bar shoe, but so far it is holding up."
The hype has been significant for Elite Alex this year, but that stems from the 3-year-old son of Afleet Alex's breeding and connections. Owned by the Elite Alex LLC, there are shades of 2005 at Oaklawn with principals Chuck Zacney and trainer Tim Ritchey making it easy to recall the run the sire made through Arkansas that year en route to wins in the Arkansas Derby, Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1). Throw in jockey Calvin Borel, the winner of three of the last four runnings of the Kentucky Derby (G1), and the hype becomes justified.
Elite Alex has trained in a similar fashion to his sire as well, including a vigorous open gallop Monday and occasionally making two trips to the track each morning.
"He's fit. Now it's up to him to go out and prove that the hype is justified," said Ritchey.
Glint is hoping to accelerate into the 3-year-old picture off his third-place finish in the Mountain Valley Stakes March 5 in what was just his third career race and first start this year.
Racing for the TK Stables of Kevin and Tammie Hulse, the Sharp Humor colt won both his starts as a 2-year-old including a stakes race at Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania last Sept. Bred by WinStar Farm, trainer Kellyn Gorder was able to secure Glint out of the dispersal sale held last November. Gorder once served as WinStar's farm trainer, helping with the early development of the Eclipse Award-winning operation's biggest stars, including 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
Glint worked Sunday morning and had an easy stamina-building gallop Wednesday morning for assistant trainer Hetta Steele. The colt will team with jockey Gabriel Saez for the first time Saturday.
Trainer Joe Petalino opened the lungs of Grade 1-winner and Southwest runner-up J P's Gusto Wednesday morning, sending the Successful Appeal ridging for a nearly two-mile gallop.
The winner of four straight as a 2-year-old including the Del Mar Futurity (G1) last August, J P's Gusto was bottled up until too late in the Southwest and had to settle for second-place. The Gem Stables color-bearer will again team with reigning Eclipse champion jockey Ramon Dominguez.
While trainer Tony Dutrow was in Ocala, Fla. at the OBS 2-year-olds in training sale, his crew was busily keeping J W Blue on edge for his Rebel run. The son of Sky Mesa walked the shedrow Wednesday after his blowout workout one day earlier.
J W Blue is 2-for-4 with a maiden-breaking win at Delaware Park last October and a snappy win over Bluegrass Jam in an allowance race Jan. 29, overcoming a slow start to score by 1 1/2 lengths.
The Elkstone Group homebred will have Joe Rocco Jr. back aboard Saturday.
Barry and Joni Butzow's Picko's Pride continues to please trainer Mac Robertson with his preparations, as does word that speedy horses from California are on their way to Hot Springs.
Fourth in the Southwest after falling nearly 20 lengths behind the early pace, the son of Cactus Ridge is expected to sit back again and make another closing run under jockey Isreal Ocampo.
"He did a lot in his work the other day," said Robertson after jogging Picko's Pride Wednesday morning. "If he closes like he did in his work, he's going to pass a lot of them."
A major 3-year-old race wouldn't be complete without a shooter from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and his Rebel hopeful Saratoga Red appears to have a spot safely in the field after a front-running debut maiden victory here Feb. 24. Preference is based on total earnings in non-restricted races, so a horse like Saratoga Red with only one start, is very much 'on the bubble' if the field goes past the maximum allowable 14 starters.
Owned by Robert Baker and William Mack, Saratoga Red is a son of Eddington and will head to the post under jockey Terry Thompson.
"He's been training great," said Lukas Wednesday. The colt breezed Tuesday morning, going a half-mile in 48 seconds. "We just need the numbers to work out to get in the gate."
Trained by Jeff Bonde, Sway Away will take up residence in the Lady's Secret barn alongside runners trained by Dutrow and Lynn Whiting. Joining the 1-for-3 son of Afleet Alex on the flight's manifest are Slew The Man, a contender for the $350,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 9, and Smiling Tiger, third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) now pointing toward the $200,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 14.
Jockey Garrett Gomez, the two-time Eclipse Award champion jockey in 2007-08, will be aboard Sway Away one year after guiding Lookin At Lucky to win the Rebel for trainer Bob Baffert.
This year Baffert and Gomez are on opposite sides as the three-time Derby-winning conditioner sends record-setting The Factor following in Lookin At Lucky's footsteps. Last year, Lookin At Lucky went on from his Rebel victory to win the Preakness and the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old.
The Factor will bed down in the same barn as Bret Calhoun's Oaklawn string. The son of War Front is two races removed from setting a track record for six furlongs at Santa Anita in his maiden win Dec. 26 and one race away from out-sprinting Sway Away by less than a length in the San Vicente at seven furlongs. The Rebel will be the first race around two turns for both the California shippers.
Jockey Martin Garcia, who emerged as Baffert's go-to rider last winter and went on to ride Lookin At Lucky to win the Preakness, will be aboard The Factor in the Rebel.
-30-
Open 10 a.m. Every Day | Until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday | 4 a.m. Friday & Saturday
2705 Central Ave. | Hot Springs, AR | 1-800-OAKLAWN | oaklawn.com
DisclaimerPrivacy Policy
Gambling Problem? Oaklawn Jockey Club encourages responsible wagering. If gambling is a problem for you
or someone you care about, help is available 24 hours a day. Call toll-free 1-800-437-1611 or 1-800-522-4700.