Santana teams with Asmussen for 5 more stakes victories

Five of a kind was a recent theme for several of Oaklawn Park’s most successful racing figures in 2018.

Perennial Oaklawn champions Ricardo Santana Jr. and Steve Asmussen teamed up to win five stakes races on Sunday at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, while Norman McKnight won five races on Sept. 26 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

Santana and Asmussen won the $76,500 Kip Deville for 2-year-olds with B.B. Dude ($12.40), $50,000 E.L. Gaylord Memorial for 2-year-old fillies with favored Adventurous Lady ($4.20), $176,925 Governor’s Cup with Hence ($4.40), Grade 3 $200,000 Remington Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies with favored She’s a Julie ($3.80) and the $75,000 Ricks Memorial for fillies and mares with favored Adore ($6.40).

Hence represented Asmussen’s 500th career Oaklawn victory when the Street Boss colt broke his maiden Jan. 16, 2017. Asmussen has collected nine Oaklawn training titles since 2007, including three consecutive. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.

Santana guided Adore to a maiden victory at the 2016 Oaklawn meeting for Asmussen and owner Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC. She has won her last

four starts.

Santana has won six straight Oaklawn riding titles. Multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Marquee Miss ($3.40) won the $50,000 Flashy Lady Stakes for female sprinters Sunday also at Remington Park.

Cosmic Burst, winner of the Grade 3 $200,000 Honeybee Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on March 10 at Oaklawn, finished third in the Grade 3 $200,000 Remington Park Oaks the same day.

McKnight, who had 16 victories in his Oaklawn debut this year, won the second race on Sept. 26 with favored Touch of Disney ($3.10), the third race with favored Giant Storm ($5.50), the fifth race with firsttime starter Twitter Storm ($12.80), the sixth race with favored Springdetti ($3) and the seventh race with favored Love That Lute ($3.10).

Love That Lute has won 3 of 4 starts, including three consecutive at Woodbine, since being claimed by McKnight, on behalf of owner Bruno Schickedanz, for $12,500 March 17 at Oaklawn.

Four of McKnight’s victories Wednesday at Woodbine were for Schickedanz, a major client.

McKnight has a meet-high 85 victories at Woodbine, where he topped the standings for the first time last year after winning five races on the closing day.

He finished with 99 victories, three more than perennial champion Mark Casse.

Heavily favored Operation Stevie, a two-time winner this year at Oaklawn, won the $100,000 Gus Grissom Stakes Tuesday at Indiana Grand for co-owner/ trainer Cipriano Contreras. Operation Stevie ($3.20) has a 5-3-1 record from 10 starts this year and earnings of $232,185.

Bulletin, a 2-year-old City Zip colt out of Oaklawn stakes winner Sue’s Good News, was a seven-length winner of his career debut last Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Florida in the $82,500 Hollywood Beach Stakes at 5 furlongs on the turf.

Sue’s Good News won her first three career starts in 2003 at Oaklawn, including the $70,000 Instant Racing Breeders’ Cup Stakes, for owner Carol Ricks and trainer Steve Hobby, of Hot Springs.

Bulletin ($7.40) is a half-brother to multiple Oaklawn stakes winner and millionaire Tiz Miz Sue, who was also campaigned by Ricks and Hobby. Tiz Miz Sue won the Grade 3 Azeri Stakes in 2012 and 2013 at Oaklawn. Ricks bred Tiz Miz Sue and Bulletin, who is co-owned by WinStar Farm LLC and trained by Todd Pletcher. Bulletin was a $250,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase.