Oaklawn Barn Notes: Quip Heading to the Arkansas Derby

By Jennifer Hoyt —-

Friday, April 06, 2018

Trainer Rodolphe Brisset said Thursday that Grade 2 winner Quip was heading to Oaklawn to run in the April 14 race for his high-profile connections; Five-time defending Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. was winless Thursday to remain eight wins shy of reaching the 1,000 win milestone; Jockey David Cohen and trainer Norman McKnight are the special guests for Saturday’s Dawn at Oaklawn.

Quip Heading to the Arkansas Derby

China Horse Club International and WinStar Farm LLC. will be represented in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) after all.

After unbeaten Justify was removed from consideration for the Arkansas Derby, trainer Rodolphe Brisset said Thursday that Grade 2 winner Quip was heading to Oaklawn to run in the April 14 race for his high-profile connections.

Quip, a son of Distorted Humor, was scheduled to arrive by van early Saturday morning, Brisset said, after he was to scratch from Saturday’s $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland.

The move comes less than a week after Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert opted to keep Justify home for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby (G1) Saturday at Santa Anita rather than run in the Arkansas Derby, the unbeaten colt’s original target before an injury to stablemate McKinzie had a domino effect on four races.

McKinzie had been ticketed for the Santa Anita Derby.

Baffert’s Arkansas Derby entrant is now scheduled to be Solomini, who was headed for the $750,000 Wood Memorial (G2) Saturday at Aqueduct before McKinzie’s injury.

WinStar, which bred Quip, and China Horse Club are also partners in Justify. SF Racing LLC also co-owns Quip.

“Of course, Justify has the same ownership in my horse,” Brisset said Friday morning. “The fact he went for the Grade 1 in California kind of opened … for us to run in a Grade 1 instead of a Grade 2. It’s really, really why you make the move. WinStar, China Horse Club and SF Racing are looking for a stallion and Grade 1 winner, so running in a Grade 2 doesn’t really change anything for them.”

WinStar, China Horse Club and SF Racing won the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) – one of Oaklawn’s four major Kentucky Derby preps – last year with One Liner and own a piece of Audible, winner of the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) last Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Brisset, a former assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has never started a horse at Oaklawn. Mott was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1986.

Quip has won 3 of 4 starts overall, including the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) March 10 at Tampa Bay Downs in his last start. Brisset said regular rider Florent Geroux will have the mount on Quip for the Arkansas Derby.

Post positions for the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby will be drawn Wednesday.

Quip was 6-1 on the morning line for the Blue Grass Stakes.

Milestone Watch

Five-time defending Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. was winless Thursday to remain with 992 career North American victories (United States and Canada), according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. In a records notification Friday morning from Equibase, Santana is not credited with a victory in Puerto Rico (993 is the total on its website).

Santana is the runaway leader in this year’s standings with 55 victories through 48 race days. David Cabrera is second with 36 victories following a double Thursday.

Santana is named on six horses Friday, including two for his main client, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

Asmussen has a meet-high 36 victories, eight more than runner-up Robertino Diodoro, as he nears his ninth Oaklawn training title since 2007. Asmussen has 7,976 career North American victories to rank second all time, according to Equibase.

Asmussen recorded his 7,000th career North American victory April 1, 2015, at Oaklawn.

Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel has 298 career Oaklawn victories, according to Equibase, and has one horse (Plenty Quick) entered Friday.

Dawn at Oaklawn

Jockey David Cohen and trainer Norman McKnight are the special guests for Saturday’s Dawn at Oaklawn, a weekly question-and-answer session hosted by paddock analyst Nancy Holthus.

The free program, which includes barn tours and complimentary pastries and coffee, is 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. (Central). Cohen and McKnight are scheduled to be interviewed around 8:30 a.m. on the south grandstand apron.

Both Cohen and McKnight are wintering at Oaklawn for the first time this year.

Cohen ranks third in the standings with 35 victories, including his first local stakes score in Saturday’s $100,000 Rainbow Miss aboard Georgia’s Reward. He is scheduled to ride Inside Straight in the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses April 14, trainer Robertino Diodoro said.

McKnight is tied for sixth in the standings with 15 victories. He has won three races with Smart Spree, a candidate for the $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 14. A former Standardbred driver/trainer, McKnight was leading trainer last year at Woodbine in Canada.

A Golden Performance

Juddmonte Farms’ Golden Mischief will be considered for the $300,000 Humana Distaff (G1) for older filly and mare sprinters May 5 at Churchill Downs following her scintillating performance in Wednesday’s eighth race, trainer Brad Cox said Thursday afternoon.

Golden Mischief won the allowance/optional claimer by 8 ¼ lengths under Fernando De La Cruz and covered 6 furlongs in 1:08.77, among the fastest times ever recorded at Oaklawn by a female.

Golden Mischief, in her 4-year-old debut and first start for Juddmonte and Cox, finished ninth in the $125,000 Spring Fever Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs March 3.

“We liked her all winter,” Cox said. “We kind of found ourselves in a little bit of a tough spot off the layoff, with having to try the stake off the layoff, which was not ideal. And 5 ½ is probably not her thing. But she really ran well. I mean, really fired home. I was really impressed with her.”

Golden Mischief drew off from the field with a sub-:23 final quarter-mile. She paid $4.20 as the heavy favorite.

A multiple stakes winner for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, Juddmonte purchased the daughter of Into Mischief for $475,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s 2017 Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. She has a 7-3-0 record from 17 starts overall and earnings of $406,730.

Golden Mischief won the $150,000 Purple Martin Stakes last year at Oaklawn through a race-related disqualification.

“Hopefully, we can get some graded black type on her at some point this year,” Cox said. “That’s obviously the goal. We’ll keep plugging away.”

Finish Lines

The track was rated sloppy for workouts Friday morning. … The infield will not be open Saturday because of inclement weather, Oaklawn officials announced Friday morning. … Kathy Howard of Hot Springs recorded her second career training victory in Thursday’s ninth race with favored Alvin’s Touch ($7), a homebred for Lewis Mathews of nearby Bismarck, Ark. Howard’s husband, Tom Howard, trained multiple stakes winner and near-millionaire Ivan Fallunovalot for Mathews before dying of cancer March 10. … Trainer Brad Cox said Thursday afternoon that Tiger Moth is under consideration for the $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares April 13. Cox said he could also start Leofric in the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses and High North and unbeaten Exclamation Point in the $150,000 Northern Spur Stakes for 3-year-olds. Both races are April 14.