• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
E-Mail Us Now
  • Upcoming Races
  • Latest News
    • Barn Notes
  • Features
    • Correll’s Corner
    • Race Selections
    • View from the Grandstand
    • Stakes Recap
    • Road to the Cup
    • Triple Crown Trail
    • Kentucky Derby Trail
  • Handicapping
    • Rick Francis – EDITOR
    • Matt Pappis – Handicapping
    • Bob Hill – Handicapping
  • Racing Links
BREAKING NEWS
2025.05.22 Oaklawn Racing Update
Grade 3 winner Mission of Joy looking for confidence boost in Sunday’s Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth
Gulfstream: Elliott Visits Winner’s Circle Twice in Day Trip to Gulfstream
Belmont at the Big A Notes 05/22
Forget About Changing the Triple Crown Format
VETERAN SKIPPYLONGSTOCKING COMES WEST SEEKING A 9th GRADED STAKES WIN IN THE GRADE II HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP GOING 1 ¼ MILES MONDAY AT SANTA ANITA
2025 Elmont/Belmont Parade to be held on Saturday, June 7
8 FILLIES AND MARES BATTLE FOR GRADE I GLORY IN GAMELY STAKES GOING 1 1/8 MILES ON TURF MONDAY AT SANTA ANITA
Monmouth Park Notes
Belmont at the Big A Notes 05/18

2025.03.06 Oaklawn Racing Updates

Posted On 07 Mar 2025
By : admin
Comment: 0

Racing Press Release
Compiled by Robert Yates


Thursday, March 6, 2025

Anticipating Zero Sugar’s career debut, Hot Springs owner Staton Flurry said he was excited to see the Twirling Candy colt entered in a maiden special weight sprint for 3-year-olds last month at Oaklawn.

Then, Flurry checked the competition.

“I looked at the overnight for Zero Sugar’s race and saw Cornucopian and I started cussing,” Flurry said.

Roughly a month earlier, Flurry said he received a call with a tip on a horse, information that was percolating in Southern California about an unstarted Into Mischief colt for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

“If you can find a Derby future on him, he’s the next Justify,” Flurry said he was told during the conversation. “They said his name is Cornucopian. The guy out there I know said this thing worked like a freak and Baffert really thinks highly of him.”

Zero Sugar ran well Feb. 23 for Flurry and co-owners Jeremy Stone of Hot Springs (Little River Racing) and Californian Corey Smith. Cornucopian? Well, he ran like a freak.

Heavily favored Cornucopian ($3.40) rolled to a front-running 5 ¾-length victory over Zero Sugar on the Rebel Day undercard. Ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Cornucopian’s final clocking of 1:09.02 was the fastest in Oaklawn history for a six-furlong maiden special weight event for 3-year-olds. Edgeway ran 1:09.05 in her Feb. 29, 2020, career debut. She finished second the following year in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Cornucopian received a Beyer Speed Figure of 101, which, through Wednesday, was the fifth highest in the country this year for 3-year-olds, according to Daily Racing Form.

“We’ve always thought highly of him,” Baffert said Feb. 27. “I’m very fortunate to have a nice group of 3-year-olds this year. I wish the (Kentucky) Derby was in June, a little catch-up time. The nice ones, you have to keep healthy and run them in the right spot. So, I’ve got a lot of planning. We’ve been here. We know what it takes to get there with a nice horse. I like running in those big races like that. I’m glad to be able to win a race at Oaklawn again.”

Justify, also trained by Baffert, made all six career starts at 3, the first coming Feb. 18, 2018, at Santa Anita. Justify, in his two-turn debut, won an allowance race in March and the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in April before sweeping the Triple Crown.

Baffert said Cornucopian was close to a race last summer at Del Mar before a “little setback.”

“I had to stop on him,” said Baffert, who has several Kentucky Derby hopefuls this year, including champion Citizen Bull and Barnes. “That’s why it took so long. He had a pretty good foundation on him, so that race was nothing for him. Like I said, we’ve got a handful of them like that here, so we’re very fortunate. We don’t have that many, but we have some good ones.”

Cornucopian returned to the work tab Wednesday at Santa Anita, covering a half-mile in :49.80. Baffert said late last month that he had “an idea” about Cornucopian’s next start, but nothing was set in stone.

“I like to wait a couple of weeks after they run to see how they really came out of it,” Baffert said.

Purchased for $1.1 million at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Cornucopian races for a high-profile ownership group that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and Stonestreet Stables.

Cornucopian represented the 41st career Oaklawn victory for Baffert, who later on the card finished second in the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) with Madaket Road. The Rebel was Oaklawn’s final major prep for the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby (G1) March 29.

Baffert said he plans to be represented in the Arkansas Derby, a race he’s won a record-tying five times, including last year with Muth. Baffert has a record-tying six Kentucky Derby victories.

As for Zero Sugar, Flurry said he was ecstatic with the how the colt, at odds of 14-1, ran.

“If he didn’t hook Baffert’s horse, that might have been the most impressive maiden special weight this year for straight 3-year-olds,” Flurry said. “He ran an 89 Beyer on debut. Ninety-nine out of 100 percent of the time, that wins the race.”

Flurry, Oaklawn’s leading owner last season, purchased Zero Sugar for $180,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s 2024 Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Zero Sugar is trained by Cipriano Contreras.
 

About the Author
  • google-share
Previous Story

Gulfstream: Into Champagne Returns ‘Stronger’ for G3 Hurricane Bertie

Next Story

JOCKEY FRANKIE DETTORI ON STAR LIST FOR STAKES-LADEN FESTIVAL CARD

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

*
*

SPONSORS

Search Our Website

Archives

Categories

Recent Posts

  • 2025.05.22 Oaklawn Racing Update
  • Grade 3 winner Mission of Joy looking for confidence boost in Sunday’s Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth
  • Gulfstream: Elliott Visits Winner’s Circle Twice in Day Trip to Gulfstream

Site Login

Website Login
© Trackside View. All Rights Reserved. Design by Gatorwebs Creative.