Oaklawn's grades run starts with Bayakoa

Trainer Steve Asmussen is shown in this 2017 file photo.
Trainer Steve Asmussen is shown in this 2017 file photo.

HOT SPRINGS -- Oaklawn Park's first weekend of graded stakes races starts today.

First up is the Grade III $150,000 Bayakoa Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up, the ninth on today's 10-race program, with a post time scheduled for 5:09 p.m. The Razorback Handicap for horses 4-years-old and up and the Southwest Stakes for 3-year-olds, each Grade III with purses of $500,000, are scheduled for Monday.

Each race will cover 1 1/16 miles.

Multiple Grade II winner Farrell, a 4-year-old by Malibu Moon, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the Bayakoa, followed by Terra Promessa at 2-1. Terra Promessa, a 5-year-old daughter of Curlin trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, has won seven of her 14 career races and five at Oaklawn, including the Bayakoa last season.

Farrell's listed jockey is Channing Hill and Terra Promessa's is Ricardo Santana Jr. Also entered in the Bayakoa are Polar River, with jockey Luis Contreras; Sully's Dream, with Fernando De La Cruz; Streamline, with Gary Stevens; Torrent, with David Cohen; and Defy, with David Cabrera.

"This race is fun," said Ron Moquett, who trains 4-year-old Torrent. "There are track conditions. There are horses moving up in class, horses moving back in class, distance changes, Hall of Fame trainers. I mean, there are all sorts of things you could build a case for in this race, and that's what makes handicapping fun."

Torrent, 9-2 on the morning line, enters off a 1-mile win in an optional-claiming race with allowance conditions at Oaklawn on Jan. 26. By Blame, Torrent finished fourth in a field of 12 in Oaklawn's Grade III Fantasy Stakes last season.

"We always like to give our horses a shot in an allowance race first, and then bring them back," Moquett said. "She didn't have to try real hard in that race, but she got something out of it. She'll obviously have to bring her A game, and everything will have to work out in our favor for us to be competitive with these battle axes. They're all some bad girls."

Farrell enters with a front-running win in the Pippin Stakes at Oaklawn on Jan. 13, her first race on the track. Trained by Wayne Catalano, Hill's father in law, Farrell defeated two Bayakoa entrants in the Pippin. Streamline finished third in the field of eight. Terra Promessa began the Pippin homestretch in second, a length behind Farrell, but faded to finish fifth as the 7-5 favorite.

"Farrell runs well over this racetrack," Catalano said. "She likes it here. She's been training well, so we're happy with everything, but this race is tough. Graded stakes are all tough."

Streamline, a 6-year-old Illinois-bred by Straightline, trained by Brian Williamson, was third in the Bayakoa last season but won the Grade II Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn four weeks later. Streamline has finished no further back than third in 19 of her 20 career starts. She finished fourth in her third race as a 3-year-old at Arlington Park near Chicago in 2015.

Including Farrell, five Bayakoa entrants have shown a tendency to race from the front, but Williamson said Streamline's versatility should serve her well no matter the pace.

"She's won on the lead before, and she's won from further back," he said. "She can do both, and that's good. It's nice to have a horse that can adapt to whatever scenario is going to happen."

Torrent had to overcome a stretch duel in her 1-length Oaklawn victory over Defy last month. Trainer Chris Hartman claimed Defy, a 4-year-old by Into Mischief, for Foster Racing Stable before the race and said he saw enough potential upside to enter her in the Bayakoa.

"First of all, you want them to come back and hopefully be competitive in the next spot at the same level where you claimed them, but when she came back, we were pretty pleased with her," Hartman said. "The way this race set up, I thought she might be in a real good spot. It will increase her value quite a bit if we can somehow hit the board."

photo

The Sentinel-Record file photo

Terra Promessa will attempt to defend her title in the Bayakoa Stakes at Oaklawn Park today in Hot Springs. Terra Promessa is the betting favorite at 2-1 odds.

Sports on 02/17/2018

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