DAY 4 of 57
MONDAY'S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 9,000
MONDAY'S ON-TRACK HANDLE $532,279
MONDAY'S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $3,167,763
MONDAY'S TOTAL HANDLE $3,700,042
THURSDAY'S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Aqueduct, 11:20 a.m.; Gulfstream Park, 11:35 a.m.; Fair Grounds, 1 p.m.; Penn National, 5 p.m.; Turfway Park, 5:15 p.m.; Delta Downs, 5:40 p.m.; Charles Town, 6 p.m.; Gulf (G), 6 p.m.
MONDAY'S STARS
No jockeys nor trainers won multiple races, but a five-way tie exists atop the jockey standings as David Cabrera (first race, Starstruck Kitten), David Cohen (second race, Georgia's Reward), C.J. McMahon (third race, Indian Gem), John Court (fifth race, Tiz My Turn) and Gary Stevens (seventh race, Sassy Sienna) all won their fourth races of the year.
Ingrid Mason took over the lead in the trainers standings when Toasting Master ($12.40) won the sixth race with T.J. Thompson. Mason has four victories in 10 starts.
SPORTING CHANCE TO SOUTHWEST?
Sporting Chance took another step toward his 3-year-old debut by working a half-mile Monday morning at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas in advance of a possible start in the $500,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 19. Sporting Chance covered the distance in :47.60 under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who breezed the Grade 1 winner immediately after the break to renovate the racing surface. Clockers caught Sporting Chance's last quarter-mile in :23 and galloping out 5 furlongs in 1:00.40.
Sporting Chance, a winner of 2 of 3 career starts, returned to the work last Tuesday, breezing 3 furlongs in :37.
Lukas said the Southwest and $900,000 Rebel Stakes on March 17 at Oaklawn remain potential landing spots for Sporting Chance, with the former becoming a more realistic target.
"He's an extremely talented horse," Lukas said Monday morning. "If he's fit, I think I can drop right in to the deep end of the pool and take on the seasoned horses because he's got a beautiful mind and he handles racing very well. Very easy horse to train. Normally you say, 'Boy, we need some experience.' But I'm not so sure I can't put a strong work into him and run him where I want to."
OTHER OPTIONS FOR LUKAS?
Lukas and Stevens teamed to win the fifth race with Bravazo, an Awesome Again colt who won a first-level allowance/optional claimer at a mile, and Transgress, an Into Mischief colt who broke his maiden sprinting on Saturday in the ninth race.
Bravazo ran the mile over a fast track in 1:37.74, almost two seconds quicker than Higher Power needed to win the second half of the split race roughly an hour later.
"That was race-horse time," Lukas said. "It was what, two seconds or [10] lengths better than the other division and there were some horses in the other division they liked."
Lukas said Bravazo has "probably earned his way" for a return to stakes company, but the race is unclear. Bravazo finished second in the $500,000 Breeders' Futurity on Oct. 7 at Keeneland.
Transgress (shin issues) was making his first start since finishing second in his June 15 career debut at Churchill Downs. The winner, Free Drop Billy, would return to capture the Breeders' Futurity.
In addition to the Southwest, Lukas said the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) on Feb. 3 at Santa Anita, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) on Feb. 10 at Tampa Bay and $400,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2) on Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds would be considered for Bravazo and Transgress.
FOLLOWING HIS BROTHER
Higher Power continued to follow the path blazed by his half-brother, millionaire and 2012 Oaklawn Handicap winner Alternation, overcoming trouble to post a three-quarter length victory in Saturday's seventh race, a first-level allowance/optional claimer for 3-year-olds at a mile.
Higher Power, by Medaglia d'Oro, races for the same connections as Alternation -- Pin Oak Stable (Josephine Abercrombie) and trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel -- and has the same resume after three starts.
Both horses debuted sprinting as 2-year-olds at Remington Park and finished third. Both won their next starts at Remington Park in their two-turn debuts.
Alternation made his 3-year-old debut in January 2011 at Oaklawn, winning a first-level allowance/optional claimer at a mile by a head.
"It is kind of scary," Von Hemel said Monday morning.
FINAL FURLONG
Unbeaten Amy's Challenge worked 5 furlongs in 1:01.40 after the renovation break Monday morning in preparation for her scheduled 3-year-old debut in Saturday's $125,000 Dixie Belle Stakes. ... Shortleaf Stable's High North worked a half-mile in :49.40 Sunday at Fair Grounds in advance of his scheduled 3-year-old debut in the $500,000 Southwest Stakes. North breezed once last month at Oaklawn before trainer Brad Cox sent the colt to Fair Grounds to avoid freezing temperatures in Hot Springs. "We've got him on a Sunday schedule," said Cox, adding weather will determine when High North returns to Oaklawn. ... Dazzling Gem will be pointed for a third-level allowance race after finishing fifth in Friday's $125,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses, Cox said. Dazzling Gem, who has battled foot issues throughout his career, won his first two career starts in 2016 at Oaklawn before finishing fourth in the $1 million Arkansas Derby.
Information for this report was contributed by the Oaklawn media department
Sports on 01/16/2018