AT THE POST
DAY 21 of 57
SATURDAY’S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 16,000
SATURDAY’S TOTAL HANDLE $3,972,751 SATURDAY’S ON-TRACK HANDLE $1,055,974
SATURDAY’S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,916,777
SATURDAY’S STARS
Ricardo Santana and David Cabrera won three races and Gary Stevens won two. Cabrera leads the standings with 22 victories in 116 starts while Santana is second with 17 victories in 96 starts. Stevens is fifth with 10 in 57 starts.
Santana won the first two races with Eternal Force ($8) and Olivia’s Uncle ($3), and the fifth with Midnight Las Vegas ($5.60). Cabrera won the third race with Rings of Jupiter ($4.80), the sixth race with Dupree ($10) and the eighth race with Powerful Ally ($4.20). Stevens won the seventh race with Enchanting Embrace ($11.20) and the Bayakoa with Streamline ($8.40).
On the trainer’s side, Ron Moquett won three races with Eternal Force in the first, Dupree in the sixth and Powerful Ally in the eighth. Moquett is in fourth place in the trainer’s standings with nine victories in 67 starts. Steve Asmussen, who is in second place with 12 victories in 69 starts, won the second race with Olivia’s Uncle and the fifth with Midnight Las Vegas.
SECOND DERBY RUN?
L and N Racing traveled the road to the Kentucky Derby for the first time last year with Lookin At Lee. The Tulsa-based ownership group has another intriguing prospect this year in unbeaten Retirement Fund, who is scheduled to make his stakes debut in the $500,000 Southwest on Monday at Oaklawn.
A son of Eskendereya, Retirement Fund has won his two career starts — both in front-running fashion at Fair Grounds — by a combined 9¼ lengths for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has led the Oaklawn standings eight times since 2007.
Retirement Fund broke his maiden by 7¼ lengths Dec. 22 before clearing his first allowance condition Jan. 20. Both races were 1 mile and 70 yards.
The Asmussen-trained Lookin At Lee made his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest and finished third before running second in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness. Lookin At Lee was also accomplished at two, winning the $75,000 Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes and finishing fourth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
“I think the horses are just different,” L and N racing manager Michael Levinson said Friday afternoon. “I think it’s different just in the fact that Lookin At Lee raced early as a 2-year-old. We kind of knew what to expect last year with him. But this year, obviously, there’s still a lot of question marks with Retirement Fund. He won his first two races wire to wire, but now he’s going to get thrown in there with a lot better horses, a lot better competition. We’re just interested in seeing how he runs. I guess we’ll have a better idea Monday at 5:15 than we do right now.”
Regular rider Shaun Bridgmohan is named on Retirement Fund, who is scheduled to break from post 7 and carry 115 pounds.
Asmussen is bidding for his third Southwest victory after capturing the race in 2002 with Private Emblem and 2014 with Tapiture. He has also entered Smarty Jones runner-up Combatant, Zing Zang and Principe Guilherme, who is excepted to scratch after starting in Saturdays’ Risen Star Stakes.
KOWBOY RIDE
Shotgun Kowboy ran in the race after the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap last year at Oaklawn. But Monday afternoon, Oklahoma-based owner/trainer C.R. Trout will watch his prized homebred compete in the $500,000 race for older horses at 1 1/16 miles.
It’s all about horsepower, Trout said Saturday morning.
“It’s a lot easier this year with Gun Runner not being here,” Trout said. “A lot easier to make up your mind to do something.”
Gun Runner was already a Grade 1 winner when he made his 4-year-old debut in the 2017 Razorback, which he dominated by 5¾ front-running lengths in a swift 1:40.97. Gun Runner was crowned 2017 Horse of the Year last month after winning four consecutive Grade 1 events, including the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
While Gun Runner toyed with his rivals in the Razorback, Shotgun Kowboy wasn’t bad about 30 minutes later, powering to a 3¾-length allowance/optional claiming victory in 1:42.51 for 1 1/16 miles.
Trout said Shotgun Kowboy was headed to another allowance race on the Razorback card this year before the gelding was rerouted Friday morning after Southern California-based Hoppertunity and City of Light – both Grade I winners – weren’t entered.
“He feels good, he likes this track, and we’re here,” Trout said. “All we’ve got to do is lead him over. I’ve hauled him a lot farther to run. The one thing I know is he’ll make them run. They’ll have to come and get him.”
The move allowed Trout to run multiple stakes winner Hallelujah Hit in Monday’s fifth race, a conditioned allowance for older horses at a mile.
Shotgun Kowboy exits a powerful front-running allowance victory Feb. 3, scoring by 5 lengths under Luis Quinonez to surpass $1 million in career earnings.
“He’s feeling great,” Trout said. “We just feel like he deserves a chance.”
Shotgun Kowboy is scheduled to break from post 7 under Quinonez and carry 115 pounds. A 6-year-old Oklahoma-bred son of sprint champion Kodiak Kowboy, he has a 10-5-3 record from 25 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,043,159.