HOT SPRINGS -- The winner made it look easy.
Blame J D, off as the 6-5 favorite with jockey Ramon Vazquez onboard, followed two others around the turn, sprinted past them as they approached the stretch, and eased away to win the $150,000, 6-furlong Rainbow Stakes for Arkansas-bred 3-year-old horses by 33/4 lengths on a wet-fast track in 1:09.73 before an estimated crowd of 2,900 at Oaklawn on Friday.
Mrs. Beans finished second, half a length in front of third-place Rolling Fork. Ghost Strategy was fourth at 24-1, 11 lengths behind the winner in the field of seven.
Goodnight Archie and Topf Road Rules scratched.
The win was Blame J D's and his trainer Aidan Green's first in stakes company.
"I didn't really tell Ramon anything," Green said. "I said, 'No matter how things work out, I'm confident in you and him.' I think Ramon rode him great. He showed he can do it all. I'm as happy as can be."
Blame J D, a son of Blame and maternal grandson of Speightstown, was first out of the gate but surrendered the pace in the backstretch to Dusty Hill.
Dusty Hill, ridden by Terry Thompson and trained by Tim Dixon, led through an opening quarter-mile in 21.97 and the half in 45.54, with Navy Seal 1 length back and a head in front of Blame J D.
Blame J D cruised by the fading front-runners and led by 3 lengths at the head of the stretch.
"I just waited to move my horse," Vazquez said. "My horse is a nice horse. He's very, very good."
Thompson said he was impressed by Blame J D's late run.
"When he came by us at the head of the lane, the winner just galloped past like we weren't even in the race," Thompson said. "He was just playing with all of us."
Green knew of which Thompson spoke.
"It was pretty cool to see him be that impressive," Green said. "We've had high hopes for him since we broke him as a baby, and that was really cool to see."
Mrs. Beans was in third, a head behind Rolling Fork at the top of the stretch but reversed the order by the wire.
Ghost Strategy, ridden by Alex Canchari and trained by Lynn Chleborad, was slow from the gate and remained last through the head of the stretch but accelerated through the wire.
"I would like to have seen him a little sharper at the break, of course, but the horse has a lot of talent," Chleborad said. "He just hasn't figured it all out yet. I think we'll see big things in the future, probably in a route, but I'm proud of him."
Canchari said he can feel that Ghost Strategy has begun to mature.
"He's a little green still, but that horse came with a good run," Canchari said. "He's a maiden still, so he's got a lot of upside."
Ron Moquett, who trained Rainbow Miss entrant Big On Broadway, said Green's energy is a benefit to others at a racetrack.
"She's one of those people you see back here with a lot of passion," Moquett said. "There's just something about the youthful exuberance of starting in this industry that's infectious to people. I love to see that."
Whereas Green is in just her second season as a trainer of Oaklawn entrants, she has served off and on since 2013 as an assistant to her husband Ike Green. The couple now have a home in Hot Springs and they and their three children consider the town and Oaklawn's racetrack their home base, Aidan Green said.
"I'm always easygoing," Green, 33, said. "I love it back here. My kids love it. I think it's a great environment. I know a lot of people think it's rough raising a kid in it, but I think it's great."
An hour after the Rainbow, in light rain and with a literal rainbow stretched across the Oaklawn eastern horizon, Hillary G won the $150,000, 6-furlong Rainbow Miss Stakes at 5-1 in 1:11.22.
Hillary G raced off a win after breaking her maiden in her last start March 21. Her jockey David Cabrera said she felt much more comfortable in the Rainbow Miss.
"This filly, the last time she ran, she never relaxed, really," Cabrera said. "She always had her ears down, and today, after I got her out of the gate, she relaxed so good. She was perfect, like a Cadillac. Whenever I asked her to go, she went. It was great."
Heated Argument, the 2-1 favorite ridden by Francisco Arrieta, finished second, 23/4 lengths behind the winner and half a length in front of third-place Kaboom Baby, ridden by Luis Quinonez. Joe Talamo rode Tyler's Tyronza to a fourth-place finish in a field of 11.
"It was unbelievable," said Austin Gustavson, who trained Hillary G's third-place first start at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston on Feb. 24. "She's been such a handful. We didn't know if she was going to make it to the races. She's wild, but she wants to run."
2021 Oaklawn stakes schedule
MARCH
DATE RACE CONDITIONS DISTANCE
6 $300,000 Honeybee+ 3-year-old fillies 1 1/16 miles
WINNER Will’s Secret JOCKEY Jon Keaton Court TIME 1:44.61
13 $150,000 Temperence Hill 4-year-olds and up 11/2 miles
WINNER Carlos L. JOCKEY Alex L. Canchari TIME 2:29.87
13 $200,000 Hot Springs 4-year-olds and up 6 furlongs
WINNER C Z Rocket JOCKEY Florent Geroux TIME 1:09.04
13 $350,000 Azeri# 4-up, fillies and mares 1 1/16 miles
WINNER Shedaresthedevil JOCKEY Florent Geroux TIME 1:42.57
13 $500,000 Essex Handicap 4-year-olds and up 1 1/16 miles
WINNER Silver State JOCKEY Ricardo Santana Jr. TIME 1:42.73
13 $1,000,000 Rebel Stakes# 3-year-olds 1 1/16 miles
WINNER Concert Tour JOCKEY Joel Rosario TIME 1:43.18
20 $150,000 Gazebo 3-year-olds 6 furlongs
WINNER Sir Wellington JOCKEY Alex L. Canchari TIME 1:10:25
27 $150,000 Nodouble Breeders’ 3-year-olds and up (AR) 6 furlongs
WINNER Tempt Fate JOCKEY Joseph Talamo TIME 1:10.14
APRIL
DATE RACE CONDITIONS DISTANCE
3 $600,000 Fantasy Stakes+ 3-year-olds, fillies 1 1/16 miles
WINNER Pauline’s Pearl JOCKEY Ricardo Santana Jr. TIME 1:43.64
3 $200,000 Purple Martin 3-year-olds, fillies 6 furlongs
WINNER Abrogate JOCKEY Ricardo Santana Jr. TIME 1:10.54
10 $1 million Arkansas Derby* 3-year-olds 11/8 miles
WINNER Super Stock JOCKEY Ricardo Santana Jr. TIME 1:50.92
10 $500,000 Ct. Fleet Sprint Hcp.+ 4-year-olds and up 6 furlongs
WINNER C Z Rocket JOCKEY Florent Geroux TIME 1:09.62
10 $400,000 Oaklawn Mile 4-year-olds and up 1 mile
WINNER By My Standards JOCKEY Gabriel Saez TIME 1:37.82
10 $250,000 Carousel 4-up, fillies and mares 6 furlongs
WINNER Edgeway JOCKEY Joel Rosario TIME 1:10.13
16 $150,000 Rainbow Miss 3-year-olds, fillies (AR) 6 furlongs
WINNER Hillary G JOCKEY David Cabrera TIME 1:11.22
16 $150,000 Rainbow 3-year-olds (AR) 6 furlongs
WINNER Blame J D JOCKEY Ramon Vazquez TIME 1:09.73
17 $1 million Oaklawn Handicap# 4-year-olds and up 11/8 miles
17 $1 million Apple Blossom Hcp.* 4-up, fillies and mares 1 1/16 miles
24 $200,000 Bachelor Stakes 3-year-olds 6 furlongs
30 $200,000 Arkansas Breeders’ 3-year-olds and up (AR) 1 1/16 miles
MAY
DATE RACE CONDITIONS DISTANCE
1 $300,000 Oaklawn Invitational 3-year-olds 11/8 miles
*Grade 1 race #Grade 2 race +Grade 3 race (AR) denotes Arkansas-bred race