Arkansas Derby eyes full field
The Arkansas Derby closed with 110 nominations.
Seemingly, all 110 want to run.
Oaklawn Park stakes coordinator Craig Lytel said at least 15 horses are being considered for the $ 1 million Grade II Arkansas Derby to be run April 12 at Oaklawn Park.
Lytle said early indications are the Arkansas Derby will have its first full field since 2000.
“We’re going to have 14,” Lytel said. “I just don’t know who the 14 are.”
The starting field is limited to 14 — the number of stalls in one of Oaklawn’s two starting gates — based on the highest earnings, excluding maiden and restricted races, Lytel said.
As of Thursday afternoon, Lytel said he had 15 probables: Liberty Bull, Golden Yank, Blackberry Road, My Pal Charlie, Indian Sun, Z Fortune, Gayego, Ablaze with Spirit, King’s Silver Son, Victory Pete, Isabull, Shekinah, Bob Black Jack, Tres Borrachos and Kohana.
Based on earnings, Kohana, who is unbeaten in two lifetime starts, would need one defection to make the field. It’s just a Fantasy
Not surprisingly, Oaklawn stakes coordinator Craig Lytel said the $ 250, 000 Grade II Fantasy Stakes on April 6 is coming up “brutally short.”
That’s because the 1 1 / 16-mile race is the second scheduled showdown between Eight Belles and Pure Clan, among the top 3-year-old fillies in the country.
Lytel said the only other confirmed starter is Alina, trained by Steve Asmussen.
Lytel said he’s hoping to find at least one other starter from the pool of 17 nominations.
“Nobody wants to run against them, [Eight Belles and Pure Clan ],” Lytel said.
In their only meeting, Eight Belles handed Pure Clan her first career loss in the $ 100, 000 Grade III Honeybee Stakes on March 16. Eight Belles and Pure Clan also are both nominated to the $ 1 million Grade II Arkansas Derby on April 12.
Rainbow Miss In a perfect world, trainer Steve Wren of Prescott said Tricky Etbauer would have had a prep for today’s $ 50, 000 Rainbow Miss Stakes at threequarters of a mile. Instead, the 5-2 program favorite will be making her seasonal debut in the Rainbow Miss, which is restricted to 3-year-old fillies bred in Arkansas.
Owned and bred by Kaaren Biggs of Springdale, Tricky Etbauer hasn’t started since finishing second in the $ 45, 000 Lady Razorback Futurity on Oct. 6 at Louisiana Downs.
“After that last race, she just kind of melted on me,” Wren said. “I just turned her out and left her on the farm for a while, knowing that it would only be two or three weeks before this race that there would be an Arkansas-bred race for her.”
But Wren said Tricky Etbauer missed her Rainbow Miss prep, partly because she fell behind in her training because of bad weather.
But Wren said he believes Tricky Etbauer is still fit enough to win today, based on six published workouts at Oaklawn since Feb. 10.
“I’m really not concerned,” Wren said, referring to the lengthy layoff.
Final furlong Thursday’s lone winning $ 2, 152 CLASSIX ticket was sold at Oaklawn. … Hall of Fame jockey Earlie Fires rode his first winner of the meeting Thursday (Ifonlyjohnny ), trained by younger brother Jinks Fires of Hot Springs. … Richland Creek became the fifth three-time winner at the meeting Wednesday. … Esperamos, a sparkling Feb. 8 allowance winner at Oaklawn, is entered in Saturday’s $ 2 million Golden Shaheen Stakes on the Dubai World Cup undercard.
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