Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Contreras wants Fitzy to relax
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – W W Fitzy will have an equipment change Thursday when she starts as a top contender in a competitive featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park. There appears to be little separating the eight fillies and mares who have signed on for the conditioned allowance over 1 1/16 miles.
The group includes W W Fitzy, a seven-time winner who will remove blinkers, and She’s All Wolfe, a five-time winner out of the millionaire race mare She’s All In. But favoritism could go to either Josie, an allowance winner in her last start for trainer Brad Cox, or Alta’s Award, who was just edged last out when second against similar for trainer Steve Asmussen.
W W Fitzy comes off a thirdplace finish in the same race as Alta’s Award. She was beaten a length in her first start for new connections. W W Fitzy acted up in the starting gate right before the start, trainer Cipriano Contreras said.
“She kind of missed the start,” he said. “She caused her own problems in the gate. She ran okay. We’ll try to get her to settle down a little bit and maybe taking the blinkers off might help her to relax a little bit.”
Francisco Arrieta has the mount from post 3.
W W Fitzy has more natural speed than most of her rivals, which could give her a tactical advantage. She could show the way or track Sara Sea, a sprintto-route prospect who breaks to her immediate inside. Sara Sea put up her best career Beyer Speed Figure the last time she went sprint to route, earning an 86 for a third-place finish in a February allowance at Oaklawn. Ramon Vazquez has the mount for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Josie starts from the rail under Joe Talamo following an allowance win Feb. 28 at Oaklawn. Making her first start since last August, she closed for a 1 1/2-length win over stakes winner Wildwood’s Beauty. Josie was making her two-turn debut in the mile race.
She is a daughter of Race Day and a half-sister to Prospective, winner of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in 2012.
Alta’s Award was second by a neck in a March 14 allowance at Oaklawn. Last year, she was second to eventual Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil in the Grade 3 Honeybee at Oaklawn and finished fourth to eventual champion Swiss Skydiver in the track’s Grade 3 Fantasy. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 6.
She’s All Wolfe was fourth last out to Josie. Last year, She’s All Wolfe won three Oklahomabred stakes, including the $145,000 Oklahoma Classics Distaff at Remington Park. It’s the same race her dam, She’s All In, won four times. Richard Eramia has the mount from post 4 for trainer Donnie Von Hemel.