Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Classic Empire strikes back
Reigning juvenile male champion Classic Empire worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds Monday at Winding Oaks Farm in Ocala, Fla., as he continues to prepare for his final Kentucky Derby prep in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 15.
According to trainer Mark Casse, Classic Empire’s regular rider, Julien Leparoux, was aboard for the work, which came out of the starting gate and in company for the second week in a row with older stablemate Airoforce, the Grade 2 winner and 2015 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up who is preparing for his 2017 debut.
“It was spectacular,” Casse said. “I had chills for two minutes after the work. It’s the best he’s ever breezed. He’s definitely back 100 percent. He needs a horse to work with, and I was limited with who can even come close to keeping up with him, and being [John Oxley] owns both of them, it works out perfectly.”
Casse said that although the final time was similar to Classic Empire’s previous work in company with Airoforce six days earlier in Ocala, there was no comparing the two moves.
“The track was much deeper today than last week because we had a lot of wind here overnight,” Casse said. “It was pretty loose out of the chute.
“He took a bit of a stumble out of the gate before he got his feet under him. Last week, it was a little harder for him to dispose of Airoforce. This morning, he drew away by six or seven lengths, and his gallop-out was awesome. He got a little tired last week, but Julien said he didn’t take a deep breath today.
“I’m really glad we made the decision to come up here. He’s a smart horse, something just set him off down there [at Palm Meadows]. Something bugged him, and sometimes you have to change things up with him or he gets bored. I’m confident when he gets to Oaklawn he’ll go out there and everything will be great.”
Casse, who already has Florida Derby runner-up State of Honor pointing to the Kentucky Derby, said he plans to give Classic Empire one more easy work in Ocala next weekend with the hope of shipping him to Oaklawn next Monday; that would give him an opportunity to gallop over the track for several days prior to the Arkansas Derby. Shipping plans have not been finalized.
Casse was equally enthused by the performance here Saturday of his lightly raced 3-yearold filly Salty, who rallied to a 4 1/4-length victory over Tequilita while making her two-turn debut in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks. Salty earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure for the win, two points lower than the mark she posted for a maiden win four weeks earlier, and will now move on as one of the likely favorites for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.
“I thought it was a huge race for her, very powerful,” Casse said, “especially since she really had nothing go her way; she had to go around everybody. It was the first time she’d run two turns, and she had to make a long, sustained run over a track that’s not easy to close on. Obviously, Farrell will be tough [in the Oaks], but I think we have a very good filly.”
Salty finished second when launching her career here with trainer Ian Wilkes on Feb. 4. She joined Casse’s barn after Gary Barber purchased an interest in the filly.
“I know she’s only had three starts, but I think she’s gotten a fair amount of experience in those races because of her running style,” Casse said. “She’s not like a filly who has run only three times and been on the lead in each race. She’s got a good disposition, and I’m not really concerned about her relative lack of experience heading into the Oaks.”
Record Fla. Derby weekend handle
Saturday’s handle of $30.6 million on the 14-race Florida Derby card was the secondhighest in the history of the prestigious Kentucky Derby prep, behind only last year’s record $32.1 million.
It was the third-largest handle at Gulfstream Park on a non-Breeders’ Cup day.
The total weekend handle of $48.8 million shattered the previous record of $40.5 million on Florida Derby weekend last year. Sunday’s handle of $18.1 million was buoyed by the $7.3 million wagered into the Rainbow 6 pool with a mandatory payout on closing day of the 2016-17 championship meet.
The largest non-Breeders’ Cup day handle in track history came this winter with the $40.2 million wagered on the inaugural $12 million Pegasus World Cup program.
“Obviously, you always want to do better than the year before, but we’re happy with the way things went Saturday,” said P.J. Campo, vice president of racing for The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream Park. “Last year, we had two undefeated colts and the two top Triple Crown contenders, Nyquist and Mohaymen, in the Florida Derby, and we weren’t competing against another Triple Crown race [the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby] as we did on Saturday.”
Rainbow 6 pays $48,881
The 2016-17 Gulfstream Park championship meeting went out with a bang Sunday for those fortunate and skillful enough to correctly select the final six winners on the card and collect a 20-cent Rainbow 6 payoff of $48,881.88.
A total of $7,336,992 was added to a carryover of nearly $2 million in the Rainbow 6, which had gone unsolved for 27 consecutive programs. The Rainbow 6 had last been hit Feb. 23 for a payoff of $324,179. There was a mandatory payout of the pool on closing day.
The Rainbow 6 races were won by Mbrace Grace ($20.20), Adventist ($7), Japonski ($10.40), Cindy’s Candy ($8.40), Hampstead Heath ($19.60), and Good and Proper ($13.60). Luca Panici and apprentice jockey Carlos Hernandez each won two races in the Rainbow 6 sequence. None of the six winners was a post-time favorite.
The Rainbow 6 is paid out only if there is one unique winning ticket on the six-race sequence, except on designated days when there is a mandatory payout of the entire pool, which is required on the final day of a race meeting.