Oaklawn Barn Notes: Whitmore Impressive in Sunday’s Victory

By Jennifer Hoyt —-

Whitmore Impressive in Sunday’s Victory

Following his 2 ¾-length victory in Sunday’s eighth race at Oaklawn, 4-5 favorite Whitmore posed briefly in front of the main infield tote board as if to admire his time.

It was fast. Really fast.

Whitmore, under Jose Ortiz, ran 6 furlongs in 1:08.81 – just off the 2016 meet-best 1:08.80 by Subtle Indian in last April’s $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3).

Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, who co-owns and trains Whitmore, said Monday morning that the mid-January “time” exceeded expectations – “not the race” in mid-January. Whitmore sat just behind a rapid half-mile (:44.72) before taking command on the outside turning for home in his 4-year-old debut.

“I basically told him that I think he’s the best horse,” Moquett said of his prerace instructions to the New York-based Ortiz, the country’s winningest rider in 2016. “He’s fit. Just put him in position to where when you ask him, he can go. But trainers always think that they have the best one.”

The third-level allowance/optional claiming victory kept Whitmore unbeaten in four career sprint starts and made the Pleasantly Perfect gelding’s immediate racing future much clearer, at least for Moquett.

“I have to talk to the partners, but for me it does,” Moquett said. “I think he would be really fun up to a mile. His gallop out yesterday is going to make everybody want to go longer, though.”

Harry Rosenblum and Robert LaPenta also own interests in Whitmore, winless in five career starts around two turns, including a third in last year’s $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn. He finished 19th in the Kentucky Derby three weeks later.

Regarding Whitmore next start, Moquett said he “hopes it’s something here,” adding the gelding will be considered for two sprint stakes – $125,000 King Cotton Feb. 4 and $125,000 Hot Springs March 11. Moquett said he “probably” wants it to be “one of “those two,” but will consider the timing of each and input from Rosenblum and LaPenta before reaching a decision.

Oaklawn’s biggest race for older sprinters is the $400,000 Count Fleet (G3) April 15.

Whitmore has a 4-2-1 record from nine starts overall and earnings of $562,000. He won a first-level allowance/optional claiming sprint at Oaklawn in his 3-year-old debut.

Changing Teams

Moquett and Rosenblum, both native Arkansans, spent the last few years trying to reach the Kentucky Derby together, but in the Smarty Jones, they will be competing against each other. They are both trying to secure a third straight trip to Louisville for the first Saturday in May.

Moquett and Rosenblum are scheduled to tangle for the first time in a major race since dissolving their business relationship last fall in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds Monday at Oaklawn. Rosenblum co-owns Uncontested, the 2-1 program favorite for trainer Wayne Catalano. Moquett trains and co-owns Petrov, the 5-2 second choice.

The twist is they both still co-own Whitmore, who remained perfect in four career sprint starts in Sunday’s eighth race, a third-level allowance/optional claimer. The gelding was saddled by Moquett and carried Rosenblum’s green, blue and white colors.

“That’s what’s funny,” Moquett said. “You go to the Derby two years in a row with someone, but now we’re competing against each other.”

Rosenblum and Moquett teamed to finish second in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) in 2015 with Far Right, who would run 15th in the Kentucky Derby three weeks later. They finished third in last year’s Arkansas Derby with Whitmore, who would finish 19th in the Kentucky Derby. Rosenblum said disagreements between he and Moquett triggered the split.

Their partnership of some four years began, ironically, when Rosenblum eventually moved Gentlemen’s Bet from Catalano to the Oaklawn-based Moquett after a career debut victory in January 2012 at Gulfstream Park. Gentlemen’s Bet is a multiple stakes winner of $742,430 and finished third in the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) in November 2013 at Santa Anita.

Rosenblum said he now has 10 horses with Catalano, including Far Right, Gentlemen’s Bet and Uncontested, who was also with Moquett before the split. The owner said he and Moquett remain friends, noting he sent the trainer a ham for Christmas and was invited to Moquett’s house to watch the Jan. 9 College Football Playoff National Championship football game between Alabama and Clemson.

“You’ve got to run against somebody,” Rosenblum said of the Smarty Jones. “Things happen in this business.”

Also in the Smarty Jones, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is scheduled to send out Unbridled Eagle for owner Willis Horton of Marshall, Ark.

Horton and Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas ended their roughly 4 ½-year business relationship late last year, a collaboration that produced Eclipse Award winners Will Take Charge (2013 Smarty Jones champion) and Take Charge Brandi.

Lukas is scheduled to start Warrior’s Club in the Smarty Jones.

All That Jazz

Jazzy Times, third in the $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G1) Oct. 8 at Santa Anita, will probably make his 4-year-old debut in a second-level allowance race, trainer Brad Cox said Monday morning.

Cox said Jazzy Times joined his barn Jan. 2 after previously being based in Southern California with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Discreetly Mine, is among approximately seven horses Cox trains for one of his newest high-profile clients, Ahmed Zayat (Zayat Stables, LLC), who campaigned 2015 Triple Crown winner and two-time Oaklawn stakes winner (Rebel and Arkansas Derby) American Pharoah.

Jazzy Times recorded his first work over the Oaklawn surface Saturday morning, breezing a half-mile in :47.40. The time ranked second of 68 works registered at the distance.

“He’s a fast horse,” Cox said. “Fast horses breeze fast, I guess.”

Jazzy Times broke his maiden last May at Churchill Downs, but has made his last six starts in Southern California. After the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Jazzy Times ran second in the $100,000 Damascus Stakes Nov. 4 at Santa Anita and ninth in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

“Just a horse that looks like he’ll fit on this circuit, more than anything else,” Cox said, when asked why Zayat moved the horse to the Midwest.
Jazzy Times has a 2-2-3 record from eight lifetime starts and earnings of $155,945.

Finish Lines

The sealed surface was rated good for workouts Monday morning, with fog obscuring much of the course. … Four-time defending Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. is named on six horses Friday after missing the first five days of the meeting because of a suspension stemming from the 2016 season. … Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel said Monday morning that Suddenbreakingnews emerged from his 6-furlong workout Saturday in good order, the latest step toward his 4-year-old debut. “I was very happy,” Von Hemel said. “Got out of it what we needed, so, hopefully, we’ll get to run sometime soon.” The gelding, who covered 6 furlongs in 1:13.20, won the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) last year at Oaklawn. … Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen (499 career Oaklawn victories) has four horses entered Monday. … Approximately 60 members of the Churchill Downs Racing Club are scheduled to watch Warrior’s Club run in Monday’s $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds, club manager Gary Palmisano said. Warrior’s Club is one of two horses owned by the Churchill Downs Racing Club, a non-profit club formed last spring to encourage low-cost, low-risk ownership – 200 members across the country paid a $500 one-time membership fee to cover the purchase price of the horse and training bills. The club’s other horse, Dial Me, is scheduled to make her 3-year-old debut Friday at Oaklawn. Both horses are trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. … Veteran jockey Tommy Pompell recorded his first career Oaklawn victory in Sunday’s fifth race aboard favored Rhodium ($7), according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Pompell, who has 2,416 career victories since 1996, is riding regularly at Oaklawn for the first time this year. He was beaten a nose in his first Oaklawn start, the 2015 Trail’s End, a 1 ¾-mile marathon that is traditionally the final race of the meeting. … Saturday first-level allowance winner Rockshaw will probably make his next start in the $125,000 Gazebo Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters March 4, trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Monday morning. … Dupree, named for former Oklahoma, USFL and NFL running back Marcus Dupree, broke his maiden in Sunday’s ninth race for Moquett. … Dutch Parrot earned Oaklawn’s 10-percent Lasix-free bonus ($4,320 in this case) after the Arkansas-bred 3-year-old daughter of Eskendereya broke her maiden in Sunday’s sixth race for trainer Will VanMeter and owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs (Shortleaf Stable, Inc.). … Comic Bird earned a $4,000 Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Horsemen’s Association incentive bonus for beating open company in Saturday’s sixth race.

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