Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
C Z ROCKET has enough to pass Whitmore at end.
HOT SPRINGS — CZ Rocket passed fan-favorite Whitmore in the final strides of the Hot Springs Stakes, but the great Whitmore had the same great excuse Arkansans used for just about everything last month.
C Z Rocket, a 7-yearold son of City Zip trained by Peter Miller and ridden by Florent Geroux, caught Whitmore with 1/16 of a mile to go and finished a neck in front to win the $200,000, 6-furlong Hot Springs Stakes in 1:09.04 before an estimated crowd of 5,500 at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort on Saturday.
Trainer Ron Moquett did not mention it afterward, but Whitmore missed 11 days of training because of record snowfall last month across the state.
“It is what it is,” Moquett said. “He’s not a perfect champion, but he’s got the heart of a champion. Sometimes things happen, but over the years, people remember horses for effort, not just where they finish. Whitmore has a great reputation for being gallant and brave and trying and honest, and he didn’t do a thing today to tarnish that reputation.”
Flagstaff finished third, 13 /4 lengths behind Whitmore and 41/4 lengths in front of fourth-place Firecrow.
Whitmore, ridden by Ricardo Santana, was sixth and C Z Rocket seventh through Firecrow’s opening quarter-mile in 21.65.
Firecrow also led through the half in 44.69, but Whitmore, the 8-5 favorite, led by a half length at the head of the stretch.
“Going down the stretch, I thought we were going to get there, but it was tough,” Miller said. “It was tough.”
C Z Rocket had started to unwind, and he passed Flagstaff and Firecrow en route to a brief engagement with Whitmore, who dug in. C Z Rocket pulled in front late and held on.
“I didn’t think we would be behind Whitmore, but it kind of worked out as a blessing disguise to track Whitmore,” Miller said. “Such a great horse, Whitmore, and so is C Z Rocket. I just can’t say enough about both of these horses.”
According to their trainers, C Z Rocket and Whitmore are both now targeted toward Oaklawn’s Grade III, 6-furlong Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on April 10.
“This will be the rubber match,” Miller said.
C Z Rocket finished second to Whitmore’s career highlight, a win in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup 6-furlong Sprint at Keeneland Race Course in November.
Moquett was perfectly clear.
“I will be standing there for the rematch,” he said. “We are 100% running in the Count Fleet.”
Geroux said he hoped for the same thing.
“I hope we can go on to the Count Fleet for a rematch,” he said.
Whitmore is in his sixth season of stakes success at Oaklawn. Though, at first, he appeared to all as a 3-year-old targeted toward a two-turn career, Moquett is quick to point out that he first established himself as a potentially outstanding sprinter. He said his early route attempts were no more than tests to determine whether he might have the qualities necessary to even attempt a Kentucky Derby run.
Breeding suggested Whitmore would.
His sire, Pleasantly Perfect, finished first and third in two attempts at the Grade I 11/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Classic. His maternal grandsire, Scat Daddy, had nine career starts, all as either a 2- or 3-year-old, and he won, in order, the 2006 Grade II Stanford Stakes at Saratoga and the Grade I Champagne Stakes at Belmont, and the 2007 Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes and Grade I Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream. He started the Kentucky Derby as the 7-1 thirdchoice but finished 18th.
As a 2-year-old at Churchill Downs and a 4-yearold at Oaklawn, Whitmore won his first two 6-furlong attempts in times of 1:10.50 and 1:10.57, but as did his parentage, he appeared best in longer races. He finished second in Oaklawn’s 2016 Southwest and Rebel Stakes and third in the Arkansas Derby to earn the future national champion sprinter a now-seemingly incongruous stall in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Not unlike his grandfather Scat Daddy, Whitmore finished 19th in the Derby, a race that is until now his final around two turns.
Since then, Whitmore has an overall record of 32 13-144, a graded stakes record of 24 7-8-2, and is 10 7-3-0 in all of his races at Oaklawn. Primarily for his win at the Breeders’ Cup, Whitmore won the Eclipse Award as the 2020 champion male sprinter.
Also Saturday, Shedaresthedevil won the Grade III, 11/16-mile Azeri Stakes; Silver Slate won the $500,000, 11/16mile Essex Handicap; and Carlos L. won the $150,000, 11/2-mile Temperence Hill Stakes.