Hot Shot Kid returns in tough spot

Trainer Mac Robertson has had Hot Shot Kid for four seasons of racing, with last year – when he won six times in eight starts – being the best yet. Now age 6, Hot Shot Kid is set to begin his 2020 campaign Friday at Oaklawn, when he returns from a layoff of more than six months in race 9, a deep optional claimer for older sprinters with a $62,000 purse that kicks off a compelling late daily double.

Hot Shot Kid, a gelding, has had most of his success in his native Minnesota, where last year he won five stakes at Canterbury Park. But he has proven he can act in open company, and he’ll need to bring his best Friday, because he’s going up against the razorsharp Strike That, a two-time winner at the meet, and the comebacking Volatile, a winner of 2 of 3 lifetime who runs well fresh.

Fourteen are entered in the six-furlong race, including two also-eligibles. Eleven are using their second-level allowance condition, while three are in for a $40,000 tag.

Hot Shot Kid “has trained really well this spring,” Robertson said in a telephone interview. With a certain date for the start of racing at Canterbury still unknown, Robertson said it made sense to get going now.

“Even with the purses having been cut at Oaklawn, they’re still very good,” Robertson said. “Oaklawn has been very good to the horsemen for a long time. I’m glad they’ve made a stand to keep running.”

Hot Shot Kid, winner of 13 of 28 lifetime, is a barn favorite.

“When you win five stakes in a single meet with a horse, you tend to like them,” Robertson said. “He’s versatile. He can run from five-eighths to a mile and an eighth, on dirt or grass. He’s a real easy horse to train.”

Nothing is easy about the spot in which he returns.

Strike That got a Beyer Speed Figure of 92 beating a slightly softer field March 29. He benefited from an outside post that day, but must overcome the rail Friday.

Volatile, winner of his debut last summer at Ellis Park – and later in a first-level allowance at Churchill in which he got a Beyer Figure of 94 – returns off a steady series of drills at Fair Grounds.

Nifty, third against similar after a poor start April 10, is among the late threats.

Oliver merits a long look on the turnback if he draws in.

The card ends with another terrific six-furlong optional claimer, this one for 3-yearolds, including No Parole, who is returning to a sprint after finding the water too deep in the Rebel last time out.

Juggernaut, a debut winner last year at Ellis, returns off a series of fast works at Fair Grounds.

Hop Kat, a fast winner of his lone start last May at Churchill Downs, will be scratched. His trainer, Eddie Kenneally, said he could not obtain suitable shipping from Palm Meadows in South Florida. That will allow Big Returns, who just won in a similar spot, to draw in from the also-eligible list.

The 10-race card begins at 1:05 p.m. Central.