Oaklawn Report #3

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Apropos (KY) – This was easily the best performance of the week, and this is also the most impressive horse of the meet so far.  Apropos came into the American Beauty off only twelve days rest, but she totally outclassed a tough field to win with ease.  She also had to overcome a tricky rail trip, and was up against several horses who had prior success at Oaklawn.  The victory makes her three for three over the Oaklawn oval so you’d have to think she will keep running here with the rest of the older filly and mare sprint races in mind.

– 2nd Star: Stealcase (KY) – It’s hard to believe Stealcase hadn’t been in the winners circle since 2012, but Sunday’s feature changed all that as he was MUCH the best winning by several lengths in an allowance race.  This was actually his second race of the meet as he finished third on opening weekend in the Fifth Season Stakes.  The win will most likely propel him back into stakes action, with races like the Essex, Razorback, and Oaklawn Handicap still on the schedule for the rest of the meet.  We’ve seen what this horse is capable when he’s at his very best, and he could be rounding into form at the right time to make a big impact at Oaklawn.

– 3rd Star: Jan’s Perfect Star (AR) – Arkansas’ best home bred returned Thursday, and had a very workman like effort in winning an allowance race by a length.  The race most likely served as a prep to the some of the bigger Arkansas bred stakes down the road at Oaklawn as she was never really asked to do much in this one.  The horse has proven she can win against open company, but with Oaklawn being the only track in Arkansas you’d have to assume they’ll take advantage of the state bred class drop in competition.

Flop of the Week

– Sky America (KY) – It was up in the air whether Sky America would take to the dirt in the feature race on Friday, and it was clear she didn’t like it to well.  After winning at Keeneland on debut, and finishing third in a stakes at Woodbine, Sky America finished a well beaten sixth in a first level allowance try.  With Casse horses mostly running on the synthetics or turf during the spring/summer months, perhaps this is one to keep in mind during that time period.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Cody Autrey	29	10	4	3	$274,979		34%	17	59%
2	Chris A. Hartman	21	6	3	2	$145,537		29%	11	52%
2	Chris   Richard	19	6	2	0	$130,250		32%	8	42%
4	Federico   Villafranco	19	5	4	4	$91,849		26%	13	68%
5	Steven M. Asmussen	28	4	5	2	$225,698		14%	11	39%
5	Brad H. Cox	20	4	3	3	$108,713		20%	10	50%
7	David R. Vance	11	4	1	1	$98,465		36%	6	55%
8	Philip A. Sims	11	3	1	2	$129,684		27%	6	55%
8	D. Wayne Lukas	25	3	2	6	$104,036		12%	11	44%
8	Roger A. Brueggemann	16	3	2	3	$90,162		19%	8	50%
8	Gary G. Hartlage	7	3	0	1	$65,935		43%	4	57%
8	Paul E. Holthus	7	3	1	0	$37,431		43%	4	57%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Norberto   Arroyo, Jr.	50	12	8	5	$353,660		24%	25	50%
2	Ricardo   Santana, Jr.	58	8	11	5	$401,597		14%	24	41%
2	David   Mello	42	8	6	4	$144,359		19%	18	43%
4	Terry J. Thompson	48	7	6	5	$232,469		15%	18	38%
5	Alex   Birzer	54	6	6	4	$178,798		11%	16	30%
6	Channing   Hill	35	5	4	6	$238,212		14%	15	43%
6	Israel   Ocampo	35	5	5	5	$168,515		14%	15	43%
6	Ken S. Tohill	30	5	4	4	$157,734		17%	13	43%
6	Seth B. Martinez	20	5	2	3	$120,839		25%	10	50%
10	M. Clifton Berry	31	4	3	5	$164,666		13%	12	39%
10	Jon Kenton Court	40	4	6	3	$119,589		10%	13	33%
10	Joe M. Johnson	13	4	0	2	$79,091		31%	6	46%
10	Jareth   Loveberry	20	4	0	5	$58,318		20%	9	45%

Preview to Next Week

– Saturday: The Martha Washington Stakes – 3-year-old fillies – One Mile – Purse: $100,000