HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Saudi Crown just held off a hard-charging Mystik Dan to win the $200,000 Lake Ouachita Stakes by a nose on Saturday on the closing-day card at Oaklawn Park.
The 12-race lineup also included the $200,000 Arkansas Breeders’ Championship won by One Ten Stadium ($75.80).
Saudi Crown ($3) and Mystik Dan both broke sharply, with Saudi Crown going on to set a controlled pace as Mystik Dan settled just off the leader. Saudi Crown set fractions of 23.72 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.28 for the half-mile and 1:11.63 for six furlongs.
He continued on the lead into the stretch, as Mystik Dan, who had begun his bid in earnest on the final turn, came rolling into the lane and cut into Saudi Crown’s advantage with each passing stride. The two battled to the wire, with Saudi Crown never giving up his advantage while covering the 1 1/16 miles on a track rated fast in 1:42.25.
“He broke on top of my horse and I just took it from there,” winning rider Abel Cedillo said in an interview conducted by Oaklawn. “When we got to the quarter pole, I knew it was Mystik Dan bothering me, so I got on to him a little bit. As soon as we hit the eighth pole, he was like on top of him, but my horse, he responded really good.”
Brad Cox trains Saudi Crown for FMQ Stables.
Mystik Dan, who won last year’s Kentucky Derby for an ownership group based in Arkansas, was making his first start since January.
Saudi Crown has now won 7 of 15 starts for earnings of $3,427,385. He is a Grade 1-winning son of Always Dreaming.
One Ten Stadium bid up the rail to win the Arkansas Breeders’ Championship by three-quarters of a length over Cybertown. The winner covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.67. Keith Asmussen was aboard the winner for William Sparks and trainer Ron Moquett.
It was a beautiful afternoon in the 70s, with the track rating starting out good and being upgraded to fast. The infield was open as the Budweiser Clydesdales made an appearance. Nepal Up put in a furious stretch bid to win the final race of the season, the Trail’s End.
Racing resumes in December.
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