Decorated Oaklawn winner leads weekend stakes victors

Seven Oaklawn Park-raced horses from the

2018 season won stakes races last weekend, the most notable being a gelding who was already a stakes winner in Hot Springs.

Decorated Soldier was a 2 1/4-length winner of the Grade 3 $150,000 Seagram Cup Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. It is the gelding’s most significant victory since the $150,000 Northern Spur Stakes for 3-year-olds on the final day of the 2016 Oaklawn meeting.

Claimed for $20,000 out of a fourth-place finish April 13 at Oaklawn, Decorated Soldier has found a home on Woodbine’s synthetic surface for trainer Norman McKnight. He won an allowance race and scored again for a $60,000 claiming tag leading up to the Seagram Cup at 1 1/16 miles. Decorated Soldier, who led at every point of call, ran the distance in 1:43.71 under Gary Boulanger and paid $21.

Decorated Soldier, then trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, won for a $40,000 claiming tag March 8 at Oaklawn. The gelding began his racing career with trainer Todd Pletcher before being claimed for $35,000 by Asmussen last summer at Saratoga. Overall, he has won 6 of 17 starts and earned $275,825.

McKnight was Woodbine’s leading trainer last year and finished among Oaklawn’s top 10 trainers in his 2018 debut. Decorated Soldier races for Racer’s Edge, Inc. and Maxis Stable.

Other 2018 Oaklawn-raced horses to win stakes races last weekend were favored Mr. Jagermeister ($3.20) in the $100,000 Minnesota Derby Saturday at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, Itsallaboutyou ($11.40) in the $85,000 Dan Johnson Sprint Saturday at Prairie Meadows in Iowa, favored Tin Badge ($3.60) in the $103,150 Iowa Breeders’ Derby Saturday at Prairie Meadows, One Fine Dream ($5.20) in the $100,000 Governor Terry E. Branstad Saturday at Prairie Meadows, favored Mywomanfromtokyo ($2.60) in the $100,000 Donna Reed Saturday at Prairie Meadows and favored Plentiful ($3.50) in the

$19,200 Monsoon Rain Saturday at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Mr. Jagermeister was a distant runner-up to Mitole in the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes for

3-year-old sprinters April 12 at Oaklawn. Mr. Jagermeister, who is co-owned and trained by Valorie Lund, won the Minnesota Derby by 10 front-running lengths under Leandro Goncalves and completed a mile over a fast track in 1:40.37. The race, restricted to 3-year-old Minnesota-bred colts and geldings, was won last year by Hot Shot Kid, who had broken his maiden on the final day of the Oaklawn meeting.

The Bachelor has proven to be a key race. Mitole won the $200,000 Chick Lang Stakes May

19 at Pimlico in his next start. The Minnesota Derby was Mr. Jagermeister’s third stakes victory this summer at Canterbury. Supreme Aura, third in the Bachelor, won the $102,000 Pegasus Stakes June 17 at Monmouth Park. Tin Badge, fourth in the Bachelor, won two stakes at Prairie Meadows, including the closing-day Iowa Breeders’ Derby.

Oaklawn regular Ramon Vazquez was the runaway riding leader at the Prairie Meadows meeting that ended Saturday. He finished with 131 victories to easily beat runner-up David Cabrera, who had 80. Vazquez also led all riders in purse earnings with $2,230,780.

Cabrera, 43, and Vazquez, 34, ranked second and fourth, respectively, in the standings this year at Oaklawn.

Oaklawn regular Karl Broberg was the leading owner and trainer at Prairie Meadows. Broberg’s End Zone Athletics won 60 races, 11 more than runner-up and four-time Oaklawn leading owner Danny Caldwell. Broberg had 82 winners as a trainer.

Broberg finish ninth in Oaklawn’s trainer standings this year with 14 victories. End Zone won 12 races to finish as Oaklawn’s third-leading owner in 2018.

Wonder Gadot, runner-up in the Grade 3

$400,000 Fantasy Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on April 13 at Oaklawn, worked a half-mile in :48.07 a week ago at Saratoga in advance of challenging males again in the Grade 1 $1.25 million Travers Stakes Aug. 25 at Saratoga. Wonder Gadot beat males in the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown earlier this summer.

Elate, third as the favorite in the Grade 3

$200,000 Honeybee Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in

2017 at Oaklawn, worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.71 SunIt’s

day at Saratoga in preparation for the Grade 1 $700,000 Personal Ensign Stakes on Aug. 25.

Two Oaklawn-raced horses picked up third-place finishes on Saturday at Arlington Park. Princess Warrior finished third in the Grade 3 $100,000 Pucker Up Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, while P R Radio Star finished third in the $100,000 Bruce D. Memorial Stakes for 3-year-olds.