Oaklawn Report #2

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Don’t Tell Sophia (KY) – The big mare is back….and could be better than ever!  After leaving the gate slowly Don’t Tell Sophia spotted them a few lengths, but it wouldn’t matter.  Turning for home she had already made up a lot of ground, and there was never a question as she cruised to a very workman like win.  I don’ think anyone questioned her coming into this one, but can she win against the tougher company that is sure to be here in March and April.

– 2nd Star: Tanzanite Cat (FL) – We called him a “wild card” to win the Smarty Jones, and he delivered winning by a comfortable margin over Walt.  There are certainly question marks about the strength of the field, but at least Tanzanite Kate won this one by quite a bit.  The win capped off an incredible start to the meet for trainer Chris Autrey, and after the race he said the Southwest would his next goal.

– 3rd Star: Work All Week (IL) – Work All Week won his fifth in a row, and his eighth in his last ten races!  The horse had been running in several Illinois bred race, and this field was loaded, but I guess it didn’t bother him as he actually won fairly easy at the wire.  Hopefully he only continues to get better with age, and you would think we would see him in all the big Oaklawn Sprinter Stakes.

Flop of the Week

– Titletown Five (KY) – I’m finally giving up on this horse.  He gave us all thrills and hope when he crushed them at Churchill as a two-year old, but he hasn’t been the same since.  Last year was lack luster, but his debut effort of 2014 was even worse.  As always, he looked poised to run a big race at the top of the stretch, but faded badly to finish second to last.  At this point what do you try next?

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Cody Autrey	25	10	2	2	$263,923		40%	14	56%
3	Chris A. Hartman	17	4	3	2	$124,287		24%	9	53%
6	Chris   Richard	13	4	1	0	$77,420		31%	5	38%
11	Federico   Villafranco	14	4	2	3	$68,516		29%	9	64%
2	Steven M. Asmussen	21	3	3	2	$174,035		14%	8	38%
4	D. Wayne Lukas	21	3	1	6	$99,755		14%	10	48%
8	Roger A. Brueggemann	9	3	1	2	$73,562		33%	6	67%
12	Gary G. Hartlage	5	3	0	1	$64,805		60%	4	80%
13	Brad H. Cox	10	3	2	0	$63,140		30%	5	50%
17	David R. Vance	7	2	1	0	$51,215		29%	3	43%
26	Lynn   Chleborad	8	2	1	1	$35,648		25%	4	50%
31	Paul E. Holthus	5	2	1	0	$26,541		40%	3	60%
34	Otto   Draper	4	2	0	0	$24,300		50%	2	50%
5	Mark E. Casse	14	1	1	3	$81,434		7%	5	36%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Norberto   Arroyo, Jr.	35	11	4	4	$320,626		31%	19	54%
12	David   Mello	27	6	3	2	$98,297		22%	11	41%
3	Channing   Hill	24	5	2	3	$203,322		21%	10	42%
2	Ricardo   Santana, Jr.	41	4	9	3	$252,291		10%	16	39%
4	Terry J. Thompson	33	4	5	2	$137,417		12%	11	33%
5	Ken S. Tohill	23	4	3	3	$130,968		17%	10	43%
8	Seth B. Martinez	12	4	2	2	$103,877		33%	8	67%
9	Alex   Birzer	36	4	2	2	$101,905		11%	8	22%
11	Jon Kenton Court	34	4	4	2	$99,890		12%	10	29%
10	Israel   Ocampo	20	3	4	1	$101,396		15%	8	40%
16	Joe M. Johnson	8	3	0	1	$65,191		38%	4	50%

Preview to Next Week

– Saturday: The American Beauty Stakes – Fillies and Mare 4 Year Olds and Upward – Six Furlongs – Purse: $100,000