Oaklawn Report #5

3 Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: Sister Ginger (KY) – After a dismal last place effort on open day, Sister Ginger came back running on Saturday as she easily took the Martha Washington by almost three lengths.  She was able to set reasonable fractions on the lead, and when challenged by Rose to Gold she had plenty left in the tank to put her away.  The win gives Sister Ginger ten points towards making the starting gate in the Kentucky Oaks, while also putting the three-year old filly division in a state of flux.  We have seen up and down performances from almost everyone in this group, and they certainly have done nothing to scare off out-of-town competition in the next two legs of the series.  You would think the Honeybee will be the next step for Sister Ginger.  We’ll see if she can put together back to back solid races.

– 2nd Star: Jan’s Perfect Star (AR) – She’s an Arkansas bred filly who had very average works leading up to her debut, but Jan’s Perfect Star was not a secret to anyone!  She was bet down to favoritism, and ran like a pro winning by twelve lengths and earning a high Beyer speed figure of 90.  She even caught the attention of the HRTV talking heads, as they sang her praises for several minutes after the race.  Where trainer Al Cates spots this one next will be fascinating.  She clearly is a standout among Arkansas Bred horses, but will they try open company next time out?  She’ll be a big story considering her local connections, and certainly has enough talent to make things exciting.

– 3rd Star: Unstoppable U (KY) – In a Saturday allowance race that was filled with talented horses Unstoppable U got the jump on them all, and was able to hold off Najjaar at the end to win for the first time since last April.  Unstoppable U has faced tough company in running in both the Belmont and Dwyer Stakes last summer, and this win could propel him to races like the Razorback or Oaklawn Handicap down the road at Oaklawn.  Saturday’s race was his second start over the Hot Springs track, and both races have been solid for him.

Flop of the Week

– Liberty Girl (KY) – There were several disappointments in the Martha Washington, but for me Liberty Girl was the biggest of the flops.  After winning a nice allowance race on opening day, Liberty Girl couldn’t reproduce that effort finishing a flat fifth while being beaten nearly seven lengths.  She got off to a horrible start out of the gate, and also ran into some traffic trouble on the turn.  Still, the race lacked the kind of burst that I was expecting to see from her.  Time to regroup!

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Chris Richard	25	11	3	2	$215,590		44%	16	64%
2	Cody Autrey	35	9	3	3	$172,334		26%	15	43%
3	McLean Robertson	28	8	3	7	$222,602		29%	18	64%
4	Donnie K. Von Hemel	35	6	6	6	$247,851		17%	18	51%
4	Philip A. Sims	17	6	3	1	$213,305		35%	10	59%
4	Steve Hobby	22	6	2	2	$176,313		27%	10	45%
4	Randy L. Morse	31	6	5	4	$162,198		19%	15	48%
4	Ron Moquett	52	6	5	6	$157,962		12%	17	33%
9	D. Wayne Lukas	36	5	3	5	$298,116		14%	13	36%
9	Allen Milligan	64	5	7	8	$125,826		8%	20	31%
9	Jamie Ness	18	5	4	1	$81,595		28%	10	56%
12	Chris A. Hartman	24	4	6	3	$123,679		17%	13	54%
13	Steven M. Asmussen	38	3	11	9	$202,718		8%	23	61%
13	Kenny P. Smith	32	3	6	5	$108,136		9%	14	44%
13	Joseph R. Martin	33	3	4	3	$89,249		9%	10	30%
13	Albert M. Stall, Jr.	10	3	0	0	$71,795		30%	3	30%
13	Kelly R. Von Hemel	12	3	0	1	$66,139		25%	4	33%
13	Richard D. Jackson	13	3	0	1	$36,371		23%	4	31%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Robby Albarado	87	17	13	7	$496,026		20%	37	43%
2	Alex Birzer	89	10	15	6	$332,001		11%	31	35%
2	Terry J. Thompson	90	10	11	9	$324,429		11%	30	33%
2	Eddie Martin, Jr.	56	10	7	9	$248,333		18%	26	46%
2	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	63	10	6	13	$236,493		16%	29	46%
6	Luis S. Quinonez	63	9	10	8	$335,976		14%	27	43%
7	M. Clifton Berry	61	8	10	7	$328,946		13%	25	41%
8	Jon Kenton Court	58	7	5	9	$317,736		12%	21	36%
9	Victor Lebron	54	6	10	6	$277,661		11%	22	41%
9	Seth B. Martinez	21	6	2	5	$180,140		29%	13	62%
9	David Mello	48	6	7	5	$153,751		13%	18	38%
9	Alex Canchari	57	6	8	5	$135,160		11%	19	33%
9	John McKee	36	6	2	8	$102,000		17%	16	44%
14	Alex Cintron	41	5	8	4	$172,927		12%	17	41%
14	Israel Ocampo	50	5	1	9	$132,308		10%	15	30%
14	Glenn W. Corbett	32	5	3	4	$125,134		16%	12	38%

Preview to Next Week

Saturday: The Bayakoa Stakes – 4 year olds & Up, Fillies & Mares – 1 1/16-Miles – Purse: $100,000

Sunday: The Spring Fever Stakes – 4 year olds & Up, Fillies & Mares – 5 1/2 Furlongs – Purse: $60,000

Monday: The Southwest Stakes (Grade 3) – 3-year-old Colts – 1 1/6-Miles – Purse: $300,000