HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The richest road to the Kentucky Oaks begins Friday at Oaklawn Park, where Hit Parade and Counting Stars bring win streaks into the $300,000 Martha Washington.
The 1 1/16-mile race is the first leg of the local series that continues with the Grade 3, $750,000 Honeybee on March 1 and the Grade 2, $1 million Fantasy on March 27. The Martha Washington drew eight and offers Kentucky Oaks points to the first five finishers on a scale of 20-10-6-4-2.
Hit Parade picked up 10 points in her last start, when she won her third consecutive race in the Untapable at Fair Grounds. She battled for a head win to remain unbeaten on dirt, following a pair of main-track wins at Churchill Downs. For her Untapable effort, Hit Parade equaled her best Beyer Speed Figure, an 81.
“She had to really dig in to win and showed a lot of grit,” trainer Brad Cox said. “That’s an important thing. At this point in her career, to have three wins shows she obviously likes to win and knows how to fight. She’s tough.”
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Hit Parade has remained at Fair Grounds since the Untapable win.
“She’s trained well,” Cox said. “We liked her in her last start in the stakes. Her works have gotten better, I think, even since then. I think she’s set up for a big effort.”
Hit Parade is 3 for 4 for her breeders, Gary and Mary West. She made her debut in August and ran third in a one-mile turf race at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
“It was more about getting her around two turns,” Cox said of the turf start. “Two-turn dirt races, they don’t seem to go that time of year. It just depends. Not always. Sometimes.”
Luis Saez has the mount in the Martha Washington from post 6. Cox said tactics are ultimately up to Saez.
“We just want to break, get a good forward position,” Cox said. “She stays on well.”
Counting Stars has won her last two starts by a combined margin of 10 lengths and is 3 for 4 overall for West Point Thoroughbreds. Her streak began with a four-length romp in the Astral Spa overnight stakes Dec. 14 at Oaklawn. The decision was made to run her back on Dec. 27 in the track’s $150,000 Year’s End, which served as her two-turn debut.
Counting Stars has remained at Oaklawn, where, for more than a week during the break between the holiday and classic meets, the track was unable to open for training because of Winter Storm Fern.
“I knew the chance of us not missing some training was not likely,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I would hate to be going into this race not running two turns off a seven-week layoff, so I feel really good about her. I think she’s a top filly, and Friday will be just another step to see how she moves forward. There’s a couple new fillies that maybe have a little advantage in that they’ve been able to train a little bit more than we have, but they’re coming to our house.”
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Counting Stars will break from post 5 under Francisco Arrieta.
“If the pace is fast, she’ll be off of it a little bit,” Casse said. “If it’s not, she’ll be on top of it.”
Casse also will saddle Search Party, who won a maiden special weight route by six lengths in her fifth career start on Dec. 27 at Oaklawn. The daughter of Gun Runner earned a Beyer of 81.
“Her last race was big,” Casse said. “As the Gun Runners do, a lot of them get better as they get a little older. If she comes with that last performance, she’s going to be tough.”
Cristian Torres has the mount from post 3 for breeder and owner Tracy Farmer.
“She has speed, obviously, so I could see her up on the lead,” said Casse.
Trainer Kenny McPeek, who has won the last two runnings of the Martha Washington, saddles Maximum Offer and Spitfire.
Maximum Offer won a maiden special weight route Jan. 4 at Oaklawn.
“It’s going to be asking a lot of her to step up off a maiden,” McPeek said, “but her last race she was really professional and we’re always after black type with fillies.”
Spitfire is moving back to dirt, where she is stakes-placed.
“I think you’ll see her run really well,” McPeek said.
Grace Is Free and Knickleandime, who ran one-two in the Mockingbird Stakes at Oaklawn, are part of the field, as is Year’s End runner-up Newton Pike.
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