Oaklawn Barn Notes: Hidden Scroll Preparing for Next Start

By Robert Yates —-

Hidden Scroll Preparing for Next Start

Hidden Scroll emerged in good order physically from his Jan. 24 victory at Oaklawn, trainer Brad Cox said, and is galloping daily in preparation for his yet-to-be determined next start.

The third-level allowance sprint for older horses marked Hidden Scroll’s first start for Cox and owner Marc Detampel, who purchased the 5-year-old son of Hard Spun for $525,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Offered as a racing or stallion prospect, Hidden Scroll had previously been campaigned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and the colt’s breeder, famed Juddmonte Farms. Hidden Scroll’s flashes of brilliance – front-running blowout victories at Gulfstream Park by 14 and 12 ½ lengths – have been overshadowed by flops in the 2019 Grade 1 Florida Derby (he was the 9-5 favorite) and 2020 Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes and pre-race gate antics.

Hidden Scroll was making his first start since finishing a weakening fifth in a 1-mile allowance race on the turf Aug. 1 at Saratoga. He showed a different dimension in his return to Oaklawn, coming from just off the pace to win by 2 ¼ lengths under Florent Geroux as the 1-2 favorite. Hidden Scroll, hand-ridden to the wire, completed 6 furlongs over a muddy surface in 1:10.69 after having to steady early on the turn and being caught four-wide at the top of stretch.

“It was the logical spot on the comeback trail,” Cox said. “I thought it was a little bit of a rough trip, not rough trip, but he kind of had to overcome some things. When he’s won in the past, he’s just kind of broke and showed the way and didn’t really pass anyone or overcome any obstacles or adversity in the race. That was encouraging.”

Hidden Scroll finished seventh in the $350,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) for older sprinters last April at Oaklawn. Cox said the goal is to get Hidden Scroll back to races like the $500,000 Count Fleet (G3) April 10, but added there’s no rush to get there. Hidden Scroll’s Jan. 24 victory marked his first outside Gulfstream Park.

“He came out of it in good order, but we’re going to give him plenty of time to recover,” Cox said. “He seems like a horse that does like to run well fresh. We’re really in no hurry with him. They paid a good bit of money for him, so we’re going to have to plot out a plan throughout the year and, hopefully, ultimately try to win some graded stakes with him. But we’ve got a little ways to go before we start running in graded stakes again.”

Hidden Scroll has a 3-0-1 mark from 10 lifetime starts and earnings of $155,007.

Cox, Oaklawn’s third-leading trainer last year, was recently named an Eclipse Award winner as the country’s outstanding trainer of 2020. According to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization, Cox entered Thursday with 1,496 career North American victories, including 213 at Oaklawn.

Hidden Scroll was among eight victories for Cox this year at Oaklawn through Jan. 31, Day 6 of the scheduled 57-day meeting. Cox entered Thursday No. 2 in the Oaklawn standings.

Plans Pending for Necker Island

Trainer Chris Hartman said next-race plans are pending for Oaklawn-based Necker Island, who hasn’t started since finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

“He’s doing great,” Hartman said. “He’s been training.”

Hartman, Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 2015, claimed Necker Island for $100,000 out of a fourth-place finish in a June 13 allowance/optional claimer at Churchill Downs.

Necker Island then finished third in the $300,000 Indiana Derby (G3) July 8 at Indiana Grand and third in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9 at Ellis Park before being beaten 14 ¾ lengths by eventual Horse of the Year Authentic in the rescheduled Kentucky Derby (COVID-19). Necker Island represented Hartman’s first starter in the Run for the Roses.

“It was a good experience, that’s for sure, a great one,” Hartman said. “I wish we would have had better results, but it is what it is.”

Necker Island, a 4-year-old son of Hard Spun, has a 2-0-3 record from 11 lifetime starts and earnings of $199,730.

Finish Lines

Post positions are to be drawn Saturday for the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles and the $150,000 Dixie Belle Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters. Both races are Feb. 13 at Oaklawn. … Coach is being pointed for the $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles March 6, trainer Brad Cox said. Coach finished a troubled second in the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 30. The Martha Washington and Honeybee are Oaklawn’s major preps for the $600,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) April 3. … Grade 2 winner Green Light Go, now with Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, is the 5-2 second choice in the program for Saturday’s seventh race at Oaklawn, an allowance sprint for older horses. The 8-5 program favorite is Shoplifted, who won the $400,000 Springboard Mile Stakes for 2-year-olds in December 2019 at Remington Park for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. … First post Sunday at Oaklawn is 12:30 p.m. (Central), a half-hour earlier than normal, to accommodate the Super Bowl. Probable post time for Sunday’s ninth and final race is 4:30 p.m., an hour before kickoff. … The Asmussen-trained millionaire Lady Apple, Oaklawn’s top 3-year-old filly of 2019 after winning all three of her starts, including the Fantasy, has been retired and will be bred to Quality Road.