HOT SPRINGS -- Effinex had another gear in outdueling Melatonin in the 70th running of the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap in the final day of the Racing Festival of the South on Saturday.
Never separated by more than a length, Effinex sneaked a head in front when the two favorites reached the second turn. Effinex then managed to widen the distance to a length by the time the two reached the end of the 1 1/8-mile contest for horses 4-year-olds and up.
Both 5-year-old horses were coming out of the Santa Anita Handicap in which Melatonin drew clear for a 4¼-length victory over Hard Aces. Effinex finished third in that March 12 race.
But on Saturday, winning jockey Mike Smith said the New York-bred Effinex was "a different horse."
"He just wasn't happy in California because of the hives," Smith said. "He battled with Melatonin down the backside and just kicked it into another gear."
Effinex, who started on the outside, paid $5.40, $3.20 and $2.60. Melatonin paid $3.20 and $3. Point Piper, the longest shot on the board at 42-1, paid $8 to show.
"He stayed closer to the pace than he's used to doing," Effinex trainer Jimmy Jerkens said via a phone interview. "He really likes that track, and he likes it fast like that. He grabbed it right away, which I was happy to see because I thought he was going to end up losing too much ground out of the gate. Mike [Smith] let him run a little more to cross over, and that was a good job on his part."
The victory was worth $450,000 to owners Glencrest Farm LLC and JSM Equine, giving Effinex career total earnings of $2,682,950. Effinex is now 8 of 22 lifetime and a winner of five of his past nine races since the start of 2015.
Melatonin saw his two-race winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in four tries with Joe Talamo in the saddle, but it was the fifth consecutive time the Kentucky-bred Melatonin has finished in the money.
"Effinex didn't let us get an easy enough lead," Melatonin trainer David Hofmans said. "He pressured us the whole time. It was kind of a reversal of what happened in California. We got an easier lead, able to relax a little more. [Effinex] was a better horse today. He may be a better horse anyway."
Point Piper started from the back of the field and was running seventh at the halfway point of the race, but the 6-year-old rallied in the final half mile to take third, ¾ of a length ahead of Blofeld and jockey John Velazquez.
"I stayed on the rail for most of the trip," Point Piper jockey Martin Garcia said. "Turning for home, we moved around horses and got a good kick. He was running, but the other horses in front were much the best today."
Jerkens said his horse will return home to New York.
"We want to savor this one a little bit before we think about [what to do next]," Jerkens said. "It's a long year, and there are a lot of races for me."
The two favorites took to the front immediately and were hardly challenged by any of the other six competitors during the race
Sports on 04/17/2016