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Scarred steps to stakes company in the Oaklawn
Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has more than one-third of this year s nominees (11 of 32) to the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes. He figures to have an even bigger presence when the gates open.
A field of seven, including three for Oaklawn s perennial leading trainer, is entered in Saturday s Oaklawn Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. The closing-day feature of the weather-shortened 51-day meeting goes as the 11th of 12 races, with probable post time 6:18 p.m. (Central). First post Saturday is 12:05 p.m. The infield will be open, weather permitting.
Oaklawn Stakes entrants from the rail out: Scarred, David Cabrera to ride, 121 pounds, 5-2 on the morning line; Causeway Jones, Rocco Bowen, 118, 9-2; Convention, Cristian Torres, 118, 5-1; Fulsome, Martin Garcia, 118, 3-1; Warrant, Fernando De La Cruz, 118, 4-1; Game Day Play, Ramon Vazquez, 124, 12-1; and Unanimously, Francisco Arrieta, 118, 9-2.
Cross Country Pick 5 Pays $9,200; Logs Total Pool Of Nearly $130K Sponsored by:
Casa Creed and Joe Bravo win the Elusive Quality at Belmont
Saturday s Cross Country Pick 5, showcasing live action from Belmont and Oaklawn Park, returned $9,200.25 for selecting all five winner s for the 50-cent wager. The total was pool was $129,903.
Shaftesbury started the sequence with a strong 2 3/4-length win in a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on Belmont s Widener turf course in Race 6. The Todd Pletcher trainee, off as the 5-2 favorite, had finished second in three consecutive starts before breaking through, hitting the wire in 1:41.63 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Shaftesbury, a $675,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, paid $7.60 on a $2 win wager.
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Silver State (left) noses out Hunka Burning Love in the Fifth Season Stakes
Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing s Silver State is the 2-1 program favorite for the $500,000 Essex Handicap for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Oaklawn.
Probable post time for the Essex, which goes as the seventh of 12 races, is 3:08 p.m. (Central). The Essex is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 17.
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Silver State is bidding for his fourth consecutive victory after the son of Hard Spun fell off the Triple Crown trail following a seventh-place finish in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) last March at Fair Grounds. Silver State resurfaced last fall and recorded two allowance victories in Kentucky before capturing the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes by a nose Jan. 23 at Oaklawn in his 2021 debut.
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Wicked Whisper and Joe Bravo win the Miss Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3, 2020
Wicked Whisper was poised for a championship in the fall of 2019. Now, it s a career reboot and step one in 2021 is the $150,000 Pippin Stakes for older fillies and mares at 1 mile Saturday at Oaklawn.
Probable post time for the Pippin, the eighth of nine races, is 4:47 p.m. (Central). First post for the second of 57 scheduled race days is 1 p.m. (Central).
Wicked Whisper is the slight 3-1 program favorite for the Pippin, which drew a field of 12 and is Oaklawn s first of three preps for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17. The series continues with the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 and the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 13.