DAY 50 of 57
FRIDAY'S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 5,o00
FRIDAY'S TOTAL HANDLE $3,563,659
FRIDAY'S ON-TRACK HANDLE $404,187
FRIDAY'S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $3,159,472
TODAY'S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Charles Town, 11:30 a.m.; Gulfstream Park, 11:45 a.m.; Woodbine, noon; Keeneland, 12:05 p.m.; Laurel Park, 12:10 p.m.; Aqueduct, 12:30 p.m.; Lone Star Park, 2:35 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:45 p.m.; Santa Anita, 3 p.m.; Hawthorne, 3:10 p.m.; Indiana Grand, 5:05 p.m.; Penn National, 5:05 p.m.; Daytona Beach (greyhounds), 6:25 p.m.; Derby Lane (greyhounds), 6:30 p.m.; Southland (greyhounds), Los Alamitos, 8 p.m.
FRIDAY'S STARS
Ramon Vazquez won five races and is in third place in the jockey standings with 41 victories in 253 starts. Vazquez won four consecutive races, starting with the second race when he rode Holiday Man ($4.00, $2.60 and $2.10), covering 1 mile in 1:41.77. He won the third race with Dance Proposal ($7.00, $3.60 and $2.80), covering 6 furlongs in 1:12.96. He won the fourth with Take Charge ($25.60, $10.60 and $6.60), covering 6 furlongs in 1:14.55. He won the fifth with Fulkerson ($6.80, $4.40 and $3.20), covering 1 mile in 1:40.12. He won the ninth race with Peruvian Appeal ($20.40, $8.60 and $5.20), covering 6 furlongs in 1:11.64.
Trainer Federico Villafranco won two races, winning the third race with Dance Proposal and the fifth with Fulkerson. On the season, Villafranco is in fourth place in the trainer standings and has has won 23 races in 112 starts.
SAME PLAN FOR WHITMORE
Whitmore will follow the "same route" he did last year after leaving Oaklawn, targeting the $500,000 Churchill Downs Stakes on May 4 at Churchill Downs for his next start, co-owner/trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Friday morning.
Whitmore was beaten for the first time in eight career sprint starts at Oaklawn in Saturday's $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap, finishing 2¾ lengths behind Mitole in the 6-furlong race for older horses.
"Happy," Moquett said when asked how Whitmore emerged physically from the Count Fleet.
Whitmore had won the Count Fleet the previous two years, but last Saturday's race wasn't an ideal setup because the freakishly fast Mitole was the controlling speed in the compact five-horse field. Whitmore shadowed Mitole from the start on the outside and challenged the favorite turning for home. But, Mitole pulled away in the final furlong to post his fifth consecutive victory.
After winning last year's Count Fleet, Whitmore finished a troubled fourth in the 7-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes. Whitmore recorded his first Grade I victory in the $600,000 Forego Stakes on Aug. 25 at Saratoga, then finished second in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.
Moquett said Whitmore's major year-end objective is the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita. Whitmore has a 12-8-2 record from 26 lifetime starts and earnings of $2,571,000.
MOTION EMOTION TO KENTUCKY OAKS
Motion Emotion, runner-up in Oaklawn's two biggest two-turn races for 3-year-old fillies, is pointing for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks on May 3 at Churchill Downs, her trainer, Tom Van Berg, said Friday morning.
Motion Emotion was beaten a length in the $500,000 Fantasy Stakes on April 12 after leading most of the 1 1/16-mile race. She was also beaten a length in the $200,000 Honeybee Stakes on March 9, a 1 1/16-mile race that is the final major local prep for the Fantasy.
Motion Emotion is guaranteed a spot in the Kentucky Oaks, which is limited to 14 starters. If the 1 1/8-mile race overfills, starting preference is given to horses with the highest point totals in designated races such as the Honeybee and Fantasy. Motion Emotion has 60 points to rank ninth on Churchill Downs' official Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.
"That's the plan," Van Berg said. "Ten days or so, we'll probably breeze her, depending on the weather, up in Kentucky ... and then we'll see where she is. Let her tell us."
Lady Apple is also pointing for the Kentucky Oaks, the nation's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.
FINAL FURLONG
The track was rated muddy for workouts Friday morning. ... Mr. Jagermeister, the 2018 Canterbury Park Horse of the Year, recorded a half-mile workout (:47.20) after the first renovation break Friday morning. Mr. Jagermeister finished second, beaten 9 lengths by Mitole, in the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters last year at Oaklawn. ... Landeskog -- a 3-year-old Munnings gelding -- worked 6 furlongs in 1:14 Friday morning for trainer Doug O'Neill. ... Breaking News is a candidate for the $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational on May 4, trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Friday morning. Invitations to the 1 1/8-mile race are scheduled to be released today. The Oaklawn Invitational winner will receive a free berth to the Preakness, the second leg of racing's Triple Crown. Moquett said March 16 maiden winner Proverb is also an Oaklawn Invitational hopeful.
Information for this report was contributed by Oaklawn media department
Sports on 04/20/2019