Oaklawn Report #4

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Donoharm (KY) – Five in a row! Two for two at Oaklawn! Donoharm is on quite a roll, and yet he’s still not getting much respect as he easily won the Essex Handicap on Saturday at odds of 7-1. He defeated Win Willy, Skyring, and Master Rick for the second straight time while also beating the powerful newcomer San Pablo by a length. The colt is undefeated since being gelded, and is getting better with each race. There is no question that he is now the top older male on the grounds that has run so far, but he will have to pass one more test next time out if he chooses to run in the Razorback Handicap where Oaklawn king Alternation is scheduled to return. Judging by his current form, fans could be in for quite a treat when those two hook up.

– 2nd Star: Big Lute (MD) – There aren’t many debuts as spectacular as this one was! Big Lute has all the Oaklawn local pundits buzzing, myself included. He won Friday’s ninth race, a Maiden Special Weight at six furlongs, by an easy five lengths without ever being asked to run. The time of 1:10.43 was one of the fastest ones of the meet thus far. Where he is spotted next is really going to be interesting to see. With a performance like that I’m sure its tempting for trainer Steve Hobby to put this horse in the Kentucky Derby mix. Pedigree wise longer distances might be tricky, but he’s certainly earned the right to give it a shot. No matter what happens, its obvious that this horse could be a special one.

– 3rd Star: Hung the Moon (KY) – If you read our Oaklawn 3 Year Old Filly preview you knew that our very own “Oaklawn Wizard” was high on this horse, and boy was he right! Hung the Moon fell just short of breaking her maiden first time out at six furlongs, but on Sunday she returned to win by an easy length and a half going one mile. Much like Big Lute, this horse looks like she could be something special. She toyed with her competition down the stretch, and added distance should be something she will enjoy. She lacks early speed, but her turn of foot kind of reminds you of another pretty good horse trainer Donnie K Von Hemel had…Caleb’s Posse! Although she’s not close to that level yet, she could progress into something great down the road. Look for her to run in the Honeybee Stakes next time out, as she will likely be on the road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Flop of the Week

– Uncle Brent (KY) – There weren’t many candidates for this position this week, but Uncle Brent certainly disappointed in an allowance race on Thursday. Oaklawn is the track that Uncle Brent has done most of his damage, and at the top of the stretch it looked as though he might be ready to do it again. Then within seconds he faded badly, finishing almost fourteen lengths behind the winner. A class drop or shorter distance is likely for his next start I’d say.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Cody Autrey	29	8	3	2	$151,789	28%	13	45%
2	Chris Richard	19	7	3	2	$171,970	37%	12	63%
3	D. Wayne Lukas	34	5	3	4	$290,404	15%	12	35%
3	Donnie K. Von Hemel	25	5	4	5	$218,855	20%	14	56%
3	McLean Robertson	18	5	2	4	$124,260	28%	11	61%
3	Ron Moquett	45	5	4	5	$118,797	11%	14	31%
3	Allen Milligan	47	5	6	6	$108,911	11%	17	36%
8	Philip A. Sims	13	4	2	1	$165,325	31%	7	54%
8	Steve Hobby	17	4	2	2	$140,454	24%	8	47%
8	Randy L. Morse	27	4	4	4	$114,648	15%	12	44%
8	Chris A. Hartman	20	4	5	2	$113,564	20%	11	55%
8	Jamie Ness	13	4	4	1	$64,443	31%	9	69%
13	Kenny P. Smith	25	3	3	4	$90,909	12%	10	40%
13	Joseph R. Martin	22	3	1	3	$63,004	14%	7	32%
13	Richard D. Jackson	9	3	0	0	$30,917	33%	3	33%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $	Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Robby Albarado	72	15	9	6	$407,503	21%	30	42%
2	Terry J. Thompson	72	9	10	6	$287,135	13%	25	35%
3	M. Clifton Berry	44	8	5	4	$289,900	18%	17	39%
3	Alex Birzer	68	8	13	6	$266,291	12%	27	40%
3	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	44	8	3	9	$145,414	18%	20	45%
6	Luis S. Quinonez	44	7	9	8	$275,331	16%	24	55%
7	Eddie Martin, Jr.	41	6	5	7	$154,050	15%	18	44%
7	Alex Canchari	47	6	6	4	$123,915	13%	16	34%
9	Jon Kenton Court	47	5	4	6	$269,379	11%	15	32%
9	Victor Lebron	43	5	9	5	$229,574	12%	19	44%
11	Alex Cintron	33	4	5	4	$131,960	12%	13	39%
11	Israel Ocampo	40	4	1	8	$111,360	10%	13	33%
11	Glenn W. Corbett	24	4	2	3	$99,339	17%	9	38%
11	Malcolm Franklin	28	4	1	3	$80,303	14%	8	29%
11	John McKee	24	4	1	6	$67,295	17%	11	46%