HOT SPRINGS -- A shot at the Preakness Stakes was on the line, but for most in the race it was a secondary concern.
Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Laughing Fox, the 4-1 second-choice ridden by Ramon Vazquez, overcame a daylong speed bias and a field of 10 other 3-year-old horses to win the first running of the $300,000, 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Invitational in 1:49.78 before an estimated crowd of 22,000 at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, the last day of the 2019 meet.
Laughing Fox, by Union Rags, finished a neck in front of second-place Night Ops. Proverb, the pacesetter from the start, finished third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Night Ops and a neck in front of fourth-place Math Wizard, the 5-2 favorite.
"He's a nice horse," Vazquez said. "When I asked him, he gave me everything."
In late February, racing officials in Maryland offered to give the winner of the Oaklawn Invitational an automatic entry into the Grade I Preakness Stakes, the second race in the Triple Crown series scheduled for May 18 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Alex Lieblong, who has never owned a Triple Crown participant, said he was excited by the opportunity to race Laughing Fox in the Preakness, but he said the possibility of that chance did not factor into his decision to enter the horse in the Oaklawn Invitational.
"He fit in this race, and he was doing well, and the purse wasn't bad," Lieblong said.
Proverb, a son of Flatter trained by Ron Moquett and ridden by Calvin Borel, led the field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.87, with 38-1 Comedian in second, Math Wizard third and Wicked Indeed in fourth.
Proverb remained in front through a half-mile in 46.98. Math Wizard, ridden by Edgar Zayas, was in second, just in front of a fading Comedian. Wicked Indeed and Night Ops raced abreast in fourth, close to the lead. Laughing Fox was in eighth as the field approached the final turn, 9 lengths off the lead.
"From the backstretch, I thought I was on the winner," Zayas said. "I thought I had them measured, but races like these are super fun to ride with a lot of classy horses."
Horses on or near the lead had proven successful throughout the 10 previous races on Saturday. Lieblong said that trend and Laughing Fox's position concerned him, but Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen's assistant Darren Fleming said he had instructed Vazquez to ignore the bias.
"I told Ramon just to let him run his race," Fleming said. "The track was favoring speed all day, and I was a little worried about that. I saw a lot of them not get by the leaders, but I was happy with the way he ran."
"I knew the speed was holding today, but you know, I was on a very nice horse," Vazquez said. "He responded when I asked him to."
Asmussen was at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the Kentucky Derby Day card.
Proverb led the field through 6 furlongs in 1:11.25 and had a 2-length lead at the head of the stretch. Night Ops was in second, a length in front of Laughing Fox who had sprinted past horses wide in the turn to move into third.
Night Ops, with Colby Hernandez riding, took the lead from Proverb with a quarter of a mile left, but Laughing Fox was a neck back and full of momentum. But it was clear that Night Ops would make it a race.
Laughing Fox took the lead with 110 yards left. Night Ops hung on. It was between those two and went undecided until the final few strides.
"My horse ran a big race," Hernandez said. "Right when that horse came up to me, he kept fighting. He ran a great race."
Night Ops owner Steve Landers said he was pleased by the effort.
"It was a great horse race," Landers said. "I loved the horse race. Alex's horse, Laughing Fox, was the best horse today, but it was a great race. We were proud to run that close, and we look forward to some more racing. He's going to be a good horse. He got beat by a good horse, and that means a lot."
With the Oaklawn Invitational's new status, the race winner did not have to be among the hundreds of horses nominated for the Triple Crown. Starters of the Preakness are limited to 14, so in the event the connections of 14 or more qualifiers request a spot in the field. One is guaranteed for Laughing Fox regardless of his earnings in graded stakes races or career earnings in nonrestricted stakes.
Vazquez said another opportunity on Laughing Fox would come as a bonus.
"If the owner wants me to ride this horse in the Preakness, that's good; but if he doesn't, I'm glad I had this opportunity today," Vazquez said. "He's a nice horse."
Sports on 05/05/2019