AT THE POST
two victories Thursday with Cadillac
Red in the fourth race and Bearsatlanticmist in the seventh. McKnight now has 10 victories during the meet to move into eighth place for trainer victories and has earned $317,663 in purses.
SPORTING CHANCE READY FOR REBEL
Before Sporting Chance made his 3-year-old debut in the Grade III $500,000 Southwest Stakes on Feb. 19, the colt’s trainer, Hall of Famer D. Wayne
Lukas, asked an observer to handicap the 1 1/16-mile race, the second of Oaklawn’s four major preps for the Kentucky Derby.
After hearing the response, Lukas, a towering figure atop his pony during training hours, gave his betting strategy.
“Box six (horses),” Lukas said, clearly expecting an unexpected result. My Boy
Jack, much more accomplished on turf, delivered just that, riding a sloppy track and golden rail to a 4 ½-length upset victory at odds of nearly 9-1.
Before training hours Thursday morning, Lukas was asked to handicap Saturday’s Grade II $900,000 Rebel Stakes since Sporting Chance, who finished third in the Southwest, was among 11 horses entered Wednesday for the 1 1/16-mile race that will award 85 points to the top four finishers (5020-10-5) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky
Derby.
“I think you can narrow it down a little bit here without my handicapping, which is terrible,” Lukas said. “It’s a nice prep, it really is. Very competitive.”
Sporting Chance is scheduled to break from post 7 under Hall of Fame jockey
John Velazquez, who will be riding the colt for the first time.
CURLIN’S HONOR TO DEBUT
John Oxley and Breeze Easy’s undefeated Curlin’s Honor will make his first start in stakes company and first beyond six furlongs in Saturday’s Rebel Stakes.
The son of 2007 Rebel and Arkansas Derby winner and Hall of Famer Curlin was scheduled to ship on Thursday from Fair Grounds, where he won an allowance race on Feb. 25. In his only other start, Curlin’s Honor won a Keeneland maiden race on Oct. 7.
“There are not a whole lot of (allowance race) options for (three-year-olds) that have won two races so you have to go in a stakes,” trainer Mark Casse said. “Timing wise and distance wise, the Rebel is the best choice. And you never give up hope that this could be ‘the one.’ If he is to have any shot at the Kentucky Derby, he needs to run in this spot.”
Curlin’s Honor will be ridden for the first time by Florent Geroux, the nation’s leading jockey in purse earnings this year.
“We’ve had a lot of luck with Florent and we are extremely happy to have him,” Casse said.
Information for this report was contributed by the Oaklawn media department.