Barber Road primed for first local win

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Barber Road has earned $561,050 at Oaklawn Park – but has never won a race at the track.

It’s an oddity that could change Friday.

Barber Road will start as a chief contender in a first-level allowance at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile race for 4-year-olds and up goes as the featured eighth race. The field of 10 includes the stakes-placed runners Chileno, Ignitis, Catdaddy, and Tonka Warrior.

Barber Road earned his local fortune in last year’s 3-yearold series at Oaklawn. He ran second in the Arkansas Derby, Southwest, and Smarty Jones Stakes, and third in the Rebel. He then ran a respectable sixth in the Kentucky Derby, closing from far back to be beaten less than five lengths.

He enters Friday’s race off a fifth-place finish at this level on a sloppy track Jan. 28 at Oaklawn.

“In the last race he was so far out of it and with the racetrack heavy, it was harder for him to close,” said John Ortiz, who trains Barber Road. “He made up a lot of ground, but not enough to win the race. He didn’t come back tired, so we’re going to spin him right back around.”

Barber Road will add blinkers Friday.

“Putting the blinkers on, he should be a little bit more involved,” said Ortiz.

Barber Road wore blinkers in all of his stakes starts at Oaklawn. The horse, who is now 4, races for W S S Racing. Overall, he is 2 for 12 for career earnings of $696,770. Barber Road is a son of Race Day.

“He’s growing, he’s matured,” Ortiz said. “He’s happy.”

Tonka Warrior finished second on Jan. 28, ahead of Barber Road, and also returns in this race. The start was his second since October, when he ran second in the $100,000 Hawthorne Derby. Tonka Warrior could be sitting on a peak effort in the third start of his form cycle Friday. Rafael Bejarano has the mount from post 7 for Xtreme Racing Stables and trainer Mac Robertson.

Chileno is making his first start since last summer, when he ran third in the Iowa Derby in July and fifth in the St. Louis Derby in August. The St. Louis Derby has since produced two next-out winners in Rattle N Roll, the winner who came back to take the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby, and One Timer, the fifthplace finisher who returned to account for the Grade 2 Franklin-Simpson at Kentucky Downs. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 3 for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Camp David gives up recency to his rivals as he makes his first start since November, but he has more speed than most of his foes and is a candidate to wire the field. Isaac Castillo has the mount from post 8 for trainer Mike Maker.