Oaklawn Barn Notes: Honeybee Winner Cosmic Burst pointing for the Fantasy at Oaklawn in April

By Matthew Cox —-

Cosmic Burst; Oaklawn/Coady Photography

Honeybee Winner Cosmic Burst pointing for the Fantasy at Oaklawn in April

Cosmic Burst was breezing for the first time since winning the $200,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies on March 10. The Honeybee was the final major local prep for the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) on April 13.Von Hemel said Cosmic Burst is pointing for the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy, a race he won in 2002 with See How She Runs.

“Everything’s great,” Von Hemel said Friday morning.

Honeybee’s third Sassy Sienna, also pointing for the Fantasy, worked a half-mile in :49.20 Saturday morning for trainer Brad Cox.

Trainer Mac Robertson said the Honeybee runner-up Amy’s Challenge is under consideration for the Fantasy or the $500,000 Ashland.

With an !

Unbeaten 3-year-old Exclamation Point worked a half-mile in :49.40 just after the track opened Saturday morning for trainer Brad Cox.

Cox said Exclamation Point is under consideration for the $150,000 Northern Spur Stakes at Oaklawn and the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland. Both 1 1/16-mile races are April 14.

Saturday’s work was the second for Exclamation Point since he cleared his first allowance condition March 3 (his two-turn debut). He was a sharp winner of his Feb. 3 career debut.

Exclamation Point, a half-brother to champion and 2017 Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire, races for his breeders, Steve and Brandi Nicholson, and Staton Flurry of Hot Springs.

Back in Business

Trainer Mike Johnson has claimed four horses this month on behalf of Texan Jan Haynes and said Oaklawn’s leading owner in 2008 is in the process of rebuilding her stable.

Haynes, then backed by Jorge Lara, a former assistant to six-time Oaklawn training champion Cole Norman, won 17 races at the 2008 meeting. But she has won only 20 races overall since 2012 and started just one horse this year.

“She just kind of wants to get back going like she was,” Johnson said Friday morning, adding trainer Bret Calhoun helped bring the two together. “She puts money into the account every week. I think I’ve been in for 20 different horses. She wants to get back going pretty strong.”

Johnson said the horses he is claiming for Haynes will go to Kentucky after the Oaklawn meeting ends April 14.

“It will be a good deal for us,” Johnson said. “I may even try to go to Texas at some point. Maybe not this year, but we’ll just see how this relationship goes.”

Finish Lines
Inside Straight, who is pointing for the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses April 14, worked a half-mile in :49.20 Saturday morning for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Inside Straight won last year’s Oaklawn Handicap. … Multiple stakes winner Golden Mischief worked a half-mile in :48.60 Saturday morning for trainer Brad Cox, who said the 4-year-old filly could resurface in an allowance race before the meet ends April 14. … Unbeaten Sonny Smack, a 3-year-old half-brother to multiple stakes winner Smack Smack, worked a half-mile in :49.20 Saturday morning for trainer Don Von Hemel of Hot Springs. … Zippy Lou, named for Oaklawn guest services manager Lou Siegel, worked a half-mile in :48 Saturday morning for Cox in advance of the $100,000 Rainbow Miss Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies March 31. … Razor-sharp sprinter Smart Spree, who is entered in Thursday’s eighth race, a stakes-quality allowance/optional claimer, worked 3 furlongs in :38 Saturday morning for trainer Norman McKnight. … Usual Suspect, a 3-year-old half-sister to multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Weast Hill, was a front-running six-length debut winner in Friday’s ninth race, a sprint for $20,000 Arkansas-bred maiden claimers. Ridden by Fernando De La Cruz, Usual Suspect ($6.20) races for trainer Brad Cox and owner/breeder Starsky Weast of Star City, Ark. Weast Hill was a 7 ½-length debut winner for Cox and Weast at the 2015 Oaklawn meeting before winning three state-bred stakes races in Hot Springs. Weast Hill, now with trainer Shea Stuart, is entered for a $16,000 claiming tag in Thursday’s sixth race, an allowance/optional claiming sprint for Arkansas-breds. Weast Hill worked 3 furlongs in :36.40 Saturday morning.