Oaklawn Barn Notes: Cabrera Chasing First Oaklawn Riding Title

By Robert Yates —-

Cabrera Chasing First Oaklawn Riding Title

Agent Joe Santos has been on the backside this week at Oaklawn laying the groundwork for David Cabrera’s chase to win his first local riding title after finishing second to perennial champion Ricardo Santana Jr. in 2018 and 2021.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Santos said during training hours Monday morning. “That’s our goal again this year. We’re here to try to win the meet. Every meet we go to, that’s kind of a goal. That’s what he does. He wins a lot of races. We’re always trying to win more than anybody else.”

Cabrera is now based at Remington Park, where he is the runaway leader in the standings. Although Remington’s meet ends Dec. 17, Santos said Cabrera only will miss one racing day next month at Oaklawn, which opens its expanded 66-day live season Dec. 3. Oaklawn’s earliest meet opening in history will feature 10 December racing dates, all Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Santos said Cabrera will ride at Remington on Oaklawn’s off days. The only racing day Cabrera is scheduled to miss at Oaklawn is Dec. 17, when the jockey returns to Remington for its stakes-heavy card, highlighted by the $400,000 Springboard Mile for 2-year-olds.

“We’ve got the favorite in all five stakes, it looks like,” Santos said. “Can’t miss that.”

Following a one-year absence, Cabrera set single-season personal local bests for mounts (377), victories (62) and purse earnings ($3,395,649) during the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that ended in May. Cabrera won two stakes – $150,000 King Cotton for older sprinters aboard Boldor for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and the $150,000 Rainbow Miss for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred female sprinters aboard Hillary G. The Rainbow Miss was the first career stakes victory for trainer Tommy Vance of Hot Springs.

Cabrera then finished second-leading rider at Lone Star Park and had 83 victories at Remington Park, through Thursday, to surpass 1,500 for his career. Cabrera also cracked $7 million in purse earnings for the first time in his career in 2021.

“He knows how to win,” Santos said.

Coinciding with Oaklawn’s December opening is a truncated race week, with racing normally conducted Friday, Saturday and Sunday in 2021-2022. Normally, Cabrera is among the most active jockeys on the grounds.

“Honestly, with the way our business is set up, it seems like a good thing for us,” Santos said. “Thus far, we’ve got a lot of business with a lot of people we’re hoping to ride for and given us some calls. I’m not necessarily sure how it plays out for everybody else, but from our standpoint I think it’s looking pretty good.”

Santos said he believes Cabrera’s prominent training clients will include Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, Kenny McPeek and John Ortiz.

“David, he’s never really angered anyone that I know of, so I feel like we can ride for everybody,” Santos said. “That’s kind of the goal. Just to try to ride the right horses in the right races and try to keep everybody happy. They know that they’re going to get effort from him. From me, I’m going to try and be as prepared as possible on knowing what’s going in what races. Hopefully, it just leads to a lot of success.”

Cabrera rode 43 winners at Oaklawn in 2018, his Hot Springs debut, and 12 in 2019 before wintering at Sam Houston in 2020.

Santos also will represent 2021 Prairie Meadows leading apprentice Kylee Jordan during the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting and said he hopes to lure another journeyman, a nationally prominent rider, to Hot Springs in January.

Cabrera and Jordan are among seven jockeys across the country Santos represents in late November.

Mason’s Maiden

Trainer Ingrid Mason said she plans to run Hypersport, runner-up in her Oct. 21 career debut at Keeneland, in a maiden special weights sprint for 2-year-old fillies opening day at Oaklawn.

Oaklawn’s 66-day live meeting begins Dec. 3, which marks its earliest season opening in history and allows 2-year-old races to be carded for the first time since 1975. Oaklawn normally opens in January. Oaklawn’s opening-day feature is the $150,000 Advent Stakes for 2-year-olds at 6 furlongs.

Hypersport, a forward factor from the start at odds of 31-1, was beaten a length in her 6 ½-furlong career debut after being bumped leaving the gate. Hypersport tuned up for her local debut by working 5 furlongs in 1:00.80 Tuesday morning at Oaklawn under Francisco Arrieta, the filly’s second published breeze this month in Hot Springs.

“That’s the star of my barn, Hypersport,” Mason said. “I have high hopes for her. She’s a pretty nice filly. She reminds me of Sarah Sis.”

Sarah Sis bankrolled $912,667 in a 22-race career for Mason, highlighted by victories in the $150,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) in 2015 at Oaklawn, $200,000 Iowa Oaks (G3) in 2015 at Prairie Meadows, $250,000 Raven Run Stakes (G2) in 2015 at Keeneland and the $400,000 Presque Isle Masters Stakes (G2) in 2016 at Presque Isle. The Honeybee was Mason’s first career graded stakes victory.

A $20,000 2-year-old purchase, Sarah Sis sold as a broodmare prospect for $750,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s 2016 November Sale.

Bloodstock agent Christina Jelm, on behalf of owner Mike Waters, purchased Hypersport for $100,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Waters (Muddy Waters Racing Stables) is Mason’s significant other.

Hypersport is by 2010 champion older male Blame out of Good Witch Glinda, a daughter of Unbridled’s Song. Hypersport is a half-sister to the speedy Oaklawn-raced Mesoma, who set a 6-furlong track record (1:07.98) in 2014 at Ellis Park. It was his second career start. Runner-up Race Day won two graded stakes in 2015 at Oaklawn, including the $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses.

“Mike picked her out off of pedigree and then I told him I was in love with her and had to have her,” Mason said. “He bought her off the Internet. I never saw her, but he had Christina over there, his agent, look at her and said he liked her.”

Mason said Hypersport flashed ability from Day 1.

“She’s always been quick and showed talent,” Mason said. “She’s destroyed everything in my barn, pretty much, I worked her with. She had a little bruising in her back end early on and then we backed off her. She’s been good ever since – knock on wood.”

Mason also trains G T Three Fifty, an unraced 2-year-old Speightster colt, and stakes-placed 4-year-old Lykan for Waters, who won eight races in 2020 at Oaklawn to tie for sixth in the owner’s standings. G T Three Fifty, Mason said, is named for a model of Ford Mustang that Waters owns. Lykan and Hypersport are also automobile-inspired names.

Mason, the second-winningest female trainer in Oaklawn history, said she will have around 30 horses this season at Oaklawn. She won five races from 99 starts at the 2021 meeting.

“I’m actually really excited about the meet,” Mason said. “This is the most excited I’ve been in a long time. I didn’t have good horses last year. It’s hard to do good when you don’t have good horses. I think I stepped it up a little bit this year, so we’ll see what happens.”

Mason has 121 career Oaklawn victories. Lynn Chleborad, who also has horses on the grounds, is the winningest female trainer in Oaklawn history with 126.

Finish Lines

Post positions for Oaklawn’s opening-day program, Dec. 3, were to be drawn Saturday. The opening-day feature is the inaugural $150,000 Advent Stakes for 2-year-olds at 6 furlongs. Oaklawn’s 66-day live season ends May 8. … Oaklawn will again conduct post draws on Zoom, the cloud-based communications application, during the 2021-2022 meeting. … Powerful Nov. 12 Churchill Downs allowance winner Sarah Harper is galloping at Oaklawn for trainer Ron Moquett, who said the 3-year-old Vancouver filly is pointing for an allowance race. Sarah Harper has won 2 of 3 starts overall, all this year, and earned $154,880. Sarah Harper races for breeder/co-owner William Sparks, a Monroe, La., automobile dealer. … Oaklawn’s offseason construction projects included three new, enlarged buildings for concessions on the infield.

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