Oaklawn Report #14

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Will Take Charge (KY) – The home town horse didn’t disappoint his 63,000+ fans when he won the Oaklawn Handicap in typical heart stopping Will Take Charge fashion! Up the back stretch there were some anxious moments as at one point he fell to last place, but at the top of the stretch he made his signature move and passed them all while holding off a late run from Revolutionary to win by a length. He also survived a lengthy inquiry for interference in the stretch, which is a topic that is still being debated today. Never the less the Oaklawn Handicap was the moment of the meet, as this horse will go down as one of the most popular horses to ever run at Oaklawn Park.

– 2nd Star: Danza (KY) – What a shocker!! Danza went off at 41-1 in the Arkansas Derby, and romped to a four and a half-length victory. Jockey Joe Bravo was able to give Danza a flawless rail skimming ride, and when asked the question he simply left the others in the dust. It’s hard to say whether he can bring that kind of effort next time out in the Kentucky Derby, but if he does he could be a real threat. Trainer Todd Pletcher doesn’t have the best of records in the Derby, but this colt could be peaking for him at the right time.

– 3rd Star: Close Hatches (KY) – This champion returned to Oaklawn after taking the Azeri last month, and basically ran the same exact type of race in the Apple Blossom, winning once again. There is no questioning this is one of the star older female in the group, and should be able to compete successfully against heavy hitters Princes of Sylmar and Beholder as the season goes along. Close Hatches will be pointed towards the bigger races in New York over the summer, perhaps starting off on Belmont Day.

Flop of the Week

– Tapiture (KY) – Considering that almost everyone thought at the very least this horse would run respectable, it was quite the surprise when Taptiure ran a flat fourth in the Arkansas Derby. He made a decent move on the turn, but was just unable to make any kind of late run down the stretch. Perhaps the added distance hurt him which is something we’ve seen with Tapit colts in the past. He’s still qualified for the Kentucky Derby, but this loss was troubling.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Per Start $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Steven M. Asmussen	157	35	32	18	$1,859,450	$NaN	22%	85	54%
2	Federico Villafranco	82	25	18	8	$590,127	$NaN	30%	51	62%
3	Chris Richard	89	23	11	12	$607,695	$NaN	26%	46	52%
4	Brad H. Cox	70	18	11	13	$683,976	$NaN	26%	42	60%
4	Cody Autrey	112	18	22	19	$564,877	$NaN	16%	59	53%
6	Chris A. Hartman	91	17	18	11	$621,412	$NaN	19%	46	51%
7	Joseph R. Martin	87	13	9	15	$278,958	$NaN	15%	37	43%
8	Ron Moquett	109	12	10	8	$479,032	$NaN	11%	30	28%
9	D. Wayne Lukas	91	11	9	10	$939,788	$NaN	12%	30	33%
9	Randy L. Morse	86	11	10	10	$412,414	$NaN	13%	31	36%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Per Start $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	292	59	49	30	$2,561,193	$NaN	20%	138	47%
2	David Mello	216	35	31	26	$896,278	$NaN	16%	92	43%
3	Ramon A. Vazquez	181	32	24	22	$912,786	$NaN	18%	78	43%
4	Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	235	31	33	35	$1,169,595	$NaN	13%	99	42%
5	Jon Kenton Court	178	26	19	18	$999,460	$NaN	15%	63	35%
5	Terry J. Thompson	202	26	22	24	$942,814	$NaN	13%	72	36%
7	Luis S. Quinonez	173	22	19	17	$837,749	$NaN	13%	58	34%
8	Ken S. Tohill	172	22	31	19	$819,373	$NaN	13%	72	42%
9	M. Clifton Berry	149	21	13	18	$793,547	$NaN	14%	52	35%
10	Jareth Loveberry	197	19	23	19	$559,735	$NaN	10%	61	31%

Owner Standings

Rank	Owner Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Per Start $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Danny R. Caldwell	80	24	18	8	$579,267	$NaN	30%	50	63%
2	Maggi Moss	53	15	8	8	$298,260	$NaN	28%	31	58%
3	Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.	55	13	9	4	$351,710	$NaN	24%	26	47%
4	Steve Landers	68	11	12	12	$221,335	$NaN	16%	35	51%
5	Steven M. Asmussen	39	9	10	5	$163,041	$NaN	23%	24	62%
6	Ulwelling, Al and Bill	35	8	5	3	$185,314	$NaN	23%	16	46%
7	Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC	20	7	5	1	$623,626	$NaN	35%	13	65%
7	Zayat Stables, LLC	34	7	4	3	$378,337	$NaN	21%	14	41%
7	Martin Brothers, Inc.	35	7	4	2	$105,391	$NaN	20%	13	37%
10	William Stiritz	47	6	3	1	$206,856	$NaN	13%	10	21%

Arkansas Derby Race Replay