Oaklawn Barn Notes: Martini Glass Has Eyes Set on Azeri

By Jennifer Hoyt —-

Martini Glass Has Eyes Set on Azeri

The rags-to-riches story of multiple stakes winner Martini Glass is scheduled to continue in the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) for older fillies and mares March 17 at Oaklawn, co-owner/trainer Keith Nations said Thursday afternoon.

Martini Glass had been under consideration for the $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes (G2), a 1 1/8-mile grass race Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, before Nations opted for the 1 1/16-mile Azeri, the final major local prep for the $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 13.

“The dirt versus turf obviously mattered,” Nations said. “The Hillsborough came up really tough. There’s just not one or two horses. There’s four or five horses that can really run in there. Not that there won’t be in the Azeri, but it is a surface that I think she’s a little better on.”

Claimed out of a career debut victory for $16,000 in February 2016 at Tampa Bay Downs, Martini Glass has a 9-5-2 record from 22 starts and earnings of $653,675. She finished second to champion Songbird in last year’s $750,000 Delaware Handicap (G1) at Delaware Park and second in the $500,000 Spinster Stakes (G1) last year at Keeneland

Martini Glass is coming off a dirt victory in her last start, the $200,000 Royal Delta Stakes (G3) Feb. 19 at Gulfstream Park, under Paco Lopez, who will have the mount for the Azeri, Nations said.

Martini Glass worked a half-mile in :47.20 Friday at Tampa Bay Downs.

Also scheduled to run in the Azeri are defending champion Streamline, multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Terra Promessa, Sandy’s Surprise and Tiger Moth, winner of the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic (G3) Jan. 28 at Sam Houston in her last start. Martini Glass finished third in the race.

Sandy’s Surprise, fourth in the Houston Ladies Classic, worked a bullet 5 furlongs (:59.40) before the renovation break Saturday morning for trainer Doug O’Neill, who said in a text that the 4-year-old daughter of Drosselmeyer was headed for the Azeri.

Nominations to the Azeri closed Friday, with post positions to be drawn Wednesday.

Nations’ only Oaklawn starter, Morning Fire, finished fourth in the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters in 2016.

In addition to the Azeri, the blockbuster March 17 card will feature the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds and the $300,000 Essex Handicap for older horses.

V is for Victory

A second career triple last Sunday, followed by a fourth consecutive victory Thursday, has propelled Tom Van Berg near the top 10 in the trainer standings.

Van Berg, 49, became a trainer of record for the first time in a decade at this year’s Oaklawn meeting following the death of his legendary father, Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, in December.

Tom Van Berg’s three winners Sunday were Single Gem ($8.80) for $40,000 maiden claimers in the sixth race, Chief of Staff ($15.40) for older $16,000 claimers in the seventh race and Silver Turns Gold ($8.60) for $12,500 maiden claimers in the ninth race.

“The tough thing about the meet we had prior to that day, I mean it’s still tough, but it always seems like you’re not in the exact, perfect spot,” Van Berg said Saturday morning. “You want to run a horse for ($20,000) and you have to run for ($30,000). You want to run a horse for ($16,000) and you have to run for ($20,000) and somebody’s dropping. It’s hard to get the exact spot. That day, we had pretty much all the horses … we had them in the right spots.”

Van Berg stretched his winning streak to four when multiple stakes winner Prime Engine ($10) captured Thursday’s fifth race for older $50,000 claimers at 1 1/16 miles.

The recent surge has pushed Van Berg into a tie for 13th in the standings, with six victories from 46 starts. He said he has 28 horses under his care.

“I would love to be able to get two more starts in each one here, but we’ll see,” Van Berg said with a laugh. “It just depends on the races that come up and if they fit it and we can find spots for them. Right now, we’re in a pretty good spot. They’re all fit, they’re all in racing shape and going forward we just have to see if we can find the right spots for them.”

Van Berg’s first triple was Jan. 11, 2003, at Turfway Park, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Van Berg has 164 career victories, including nine at Oaklawn. He won three races at the 2004 meeting, highlighted by Sonic West’s victory in the $100,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses.

Van Berg, who saddled his first winner in 1999, quit training in 2008 to help raise his family. He eventually inherited many of his father’s runners after his health began to deteriorate last year.

Jack Van Berg was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1983 and 1984.

Finish Lines

The track was rated fast for workouts Saturday morning. … Millionaire Shotgun Kowboy worked a half-mile in :47.80 Saturday morning for owner/trainer C.R. Trout. … Grade 3 winner
Rated R Superstar went a half-mile in :48.60 Saturday morning for trainer Kenny McPeek. … Stakes-winning Someday Soon breezed 5 furlongs in 1:00.40 after the renovation break Saturday morning for trainer Will VanMeter, who said he is pointing the 4-year-old Proud Citizen filly for an allowance spot. … Lovely Bernadette is entered in the $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes (G2), a 1 1/8-mile grass race, Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. Lovely Bernadette is one of 10 starters from the $200,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies last year at Oaklawn to return and win. Lovely Bernadette, who has been based this winter in Hot Springs with trainer Jimmy DiVito, developed into a multiple graded stakes winner on grass following the Honeybee. … Salsa’s Return ($8.20) represented the 272nd career Oaklawn victory for trainer Randy Morse in Friday’s second race, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. … Colonelsdarktemper, a debut winner at the 2017 Oaklawn meeting before claiming the $750,000 West Virginia Derby (G3), is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut in Sunday’s eighth race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance/optional claimer. … Zippy Lou, a 3-year-old Arkansas-bred filly named after Oaklawn guest services manager Lou Siegel, is scheduled to make her career debut in Sunday’s seventh race. Also entered in the 6-furlong race are She Beast, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner The Big Beast, and Eternal Bling, a full sister to multiple stakes winner Texas Bling.