Whitmore, stakes winners resurface at Keeneland
Several Oaklawn Park stakes winners are scheduled to resurface during opening weekend of the Keeneland Race Course fall meet in Kentucky, including defending champion Whitmore in today’s Grade 2 $250,000 Phoenix Stakes at 6 furlongs.
Probable post time for the Phoenix, which goes as race 8, is 3:57 p.m.
Whitmore was Oaklawn’s top older sprinter the last two years after sweeping the $125,000 Hot Springs Stakes and Grade
3 $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for co-owner/trainer Ron Moquett, of Hot Springs.
Whitmore (9-5 on the morning line) is scheduled to break from post 2 under Ricardo Santana Jr. and carry top weight of
124 pounds. Santana has won six consecutive Oaklawn riding titles. Also entered in the Phoenix are Oaklawn-raced Dalmore and Heartwood.
The Phoenix is a “Win and You’re In” event for the Grade 1
$2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.
Saturday’s Grade 2 $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes features multiple Oaklawn winner Golden Mischief.
Golden Mischief, then under the care of Hall of Fame Steve Asmussen, won the $150,000 Purple Martin Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters in 2017 at Oaklawn. She was an April 4 allowance winner at Oaklawn, recording one of the fastest 6-furlong times ever for a female in Hot Springs
(1:08.77) for Brad Cox, fourth ins Oaklawn’s trainer standings this year. Golden Mischief is seeking her third consecutive stakes victory.
Also entered in the 6-furlong Thoroughbred Club of America are Oaklawn-raced Torrent and Vertical Oak.
Probable post time for the Thoroughbred Club of America, which goes as race 7, is 3:05 p.m. The race is a “Win and You’re In” event for the Grade 1 $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare
Sprint also on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.
Expected to run in Sunday’s Grade 1 $500,000 Spinster Stakes
are Sassy Sienna and Eskimo Kisses.
Sassy Sienna won Oaklawn’s Grade 3 $400,000 Fantasy Stakes
for 3-year-old fillies on April 13. Eskimo Kisses, another 3-yearold filly, was a two-time winner this year at Oaklawn. Oaklawn-raced Blue Prize is also expected for the Spinster.
The 1 1/8-mile Spinster is a “Win and You’re In” event for the Grade 1 $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.
Oaklawn-raced Synchrony is entered in the Grade 1 $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes on Saturday. Probable post time for the Shadwell, which goes as race
10, is 4:49 p.m.
Farrell and Dreamcall, both winners at the 2018 Oaklawn meeting, are entered in the Grade 1 $400,000 Beldame Stakes for fillies and mares Saturday at Belmont Park in New York.
Farrell won the $125,000 Pippin Stakes on Jan. 13. Dreamcall was a March 3 allowance winner for Asmussen. Probable for the 1
1/8-mile Beldame, which goes as race 8, is 3:25 p.m.