Oaklawn Report #8

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: King Henny (KY) – Saturday confirmed what many of us had assumed about King Henny…he is purely a sprinter, and a good one at that.  He was up against the much hyped Titletown Five and Get Happy Mister, but put them both away with ease as he won by over a length on the wire.  King Henny was able to stalk a moderate pace, and definitely did his best running down the lane.  The win could spring-board King Henny to the Instant Racing Stakes, which will be ran during the Racing Festival of the South on Friday April 12th.

– 2nd Star: Hung the Moon (KY) – This very classy three-year old filly made it two in a row on Friday, as she overcame a bit of a track bias as well as slow fractions to close for last to first to win an entry-level allowance by just over a length.  As the distances get longer, Hung the Moon seems to be getting stronger, which is obviously a good sign of things to come.  The Fantasy Stakes could now be the goal for this improving filly, with a shot at the Kentucky Oaks on the line.  That kind of race will certainly be a jump in class, but Hung the Moon could very well be the best three-year old filly on the grounds.

– 3rd Star: Master Rick (FL) – Master Rick had run two very strong races in Stakes to start the meet at Oaklawn, and on Thursday he got a bit of class relief when he dropped to an allowance and dominated the field winning by multiple lengths.  The win confirmed the strength of the older males at Oaklawn this year, and also confirmed that Master Rick is a pretty good horse in his own right.  It might be a little tricky to know where to point this guy towards considering he’s been beaten by the top males on the grounds, but you’d have to think he’s good enough to win an ungraded Stakes at several other tracks around the country.

Flop of the Week

– Titletown Five (KY) – The Gazebo was the most anticipated race of the meet so far for me, but it left me disappointed and confused.  I was very high on Titletown Five and Get Happy Mister, yet both failed to show they’re true talents.  I made Titletown Five the “flop” because he was the much hyped horse nationally coming into the race.  At the top of the stretch he looked like an easy winner, but tired badly down the stretch finishing a fading second.  Those of us who are backing him just hope that he needed a race and will improve, but the optimism has to be put on hold as of now.

Trainer Standings

Rank	Trainer Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	McLean Robertson	62	17	6	13	$446,497		27%	36	58%
2	Chris Richard	47	16	8	6	$328,931		34%	30	64%
3	Steven M. Asmussen	68	14	13	11	$548,243		21%	38	56%
4	Donnie K. Von Hemel	59	12	11	9	$488,868		20%	32	54%
5	Cody Autrey	52	10	4	8	$216,271		19%	22	42%
6	Kenny P. Smith	63	9	9	7	$246,095		14%	25	40%
6	Joseph R. Martin	63	9	8	5	$233,074		14%	22	35%
6	Allen Milligan	115	9	9	11	$199,118		8%	29	25%
6	Jamie Ness	28	9	6	1	$130,040		32%	16	57%
10	Steve Hobby	38	8	4	7	$261,724		21%	19	50%
10	Ron Moquett	80	8	6	13	$220,904		10%	27	34%
12	D. Wayne Lukas	52	7	6	9	$420,545		13%	22	42%
12	Philip A. Sims	26	7	3	5	$295,214		27%	15	58%
12	Chris A. Hartman	42	7	10	6	$245,549		17%	23	55%
12	Randy L. Morse	54	7	8	10	$204,079		13%	25	46%
12	Brad H. Cox	20	7	1	4	$105,642		35%	12	60%

Jockey Standings

Rank	Jockey Name	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Total $		Win%	Top3	Top3%
1	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	130	30	13	23	$768,655		23%	66	51%
2	Robby Albarado	157	26	20	17	$803,510		17%	63	40%
3	Luis S. Quinonez	120	23	19	14	$752,929		19%	56	47%
4	Alex Birzer	146	20	19	14	$569,533		14%	53	36%
5	Terry J. Thompson	138	19	16	19	$524,725		14%	54	39%
6	M. Clifton Berry	121	17	22	14	$575,144		14%	53	44%
7	Jon Kenton Court	104	12	10	16	$524,181		12%	38	37%
8	Victor Lebron	87	11	13	10	$401,725		13%	34	39%
8	Israel Ocampo	93	11	4	13	$260,061		12%	28	30%
10	Eddie Martin, Jr.	96	10	13	20	$317,812		10%	43	45%
11	Ramon A. Vazquez	86	9	8	10	$293,825		10%	27	31%
12	Alex Cintron	52	8	9	5	$263,156		15%	22	42%
12	David Mello	86	8	14	7	$212,557		9%	29	34%

Preview to Next Week

Saturday: The Razorback Handicap (Grade 3) – 4 Year olds and upward – 1 1/16th miles – Purse: $150,000

Saturday: The Honeybee Stakes (Grade 3) – 3 Year old fillies – 1 1/16th miles – Purse: $150,000