HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Skippylongstocking has a history of repeating in major races and will attempt to do so again Saturday when he starts as the 123-pound highweight in the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap.
The 1 1/8-mile race is the richest of three stakes on a 12-race card that has a special first post of 12:20 p.m. Central. The $200,000 Bathhouse Row on the undercard awards its winner a berth into the Preakness Stakes.
The Oaklawn Handicap drew a competitive field of eight that includes Grade 2 winners First Mission and Red Route One; Grade 3 winners Alexander Helios, Banishing, and Disarm; and the multiple graded stakes-placed Tarantino.
Skippylongstocking, who is 6, leads the field in earnings with $3.4 million. He’s won the Grade 3 Challenger at Tampa Bay Downs at the ages of 4, 5, and 6; the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic at 4 and 5; and won last year’s Oaklawn Handicap at 5.
“We’re very happy to bring him back to Oaklawn,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “We’re hoping for a big effort again.
“He’s a model of consistency. He travels well. He takes his track with him every time. He shows up.”
Skippylongstocking enters Saturday’s renewal of the Oaklawn Handicap off a 1 1/4-length win in the Challenger on March 8. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 104 in the 1 1/16-mile race.
“I thought it was a big race,” Joseph said. “It’s a race he’s won now three times in a row and it worked last year as a prep for Oaklawn and we kind of used the same race, same plan. We feel like he’s coming in as good as last year, if not better.”
Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount from post 4 for owner Daniel Alonso.
“He likes to run prominent,” Joseph said. “We’ll kind of leave it to Irad.”
First Mission is making his second start since August. He was third by a neck in the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn in his last out Feb. 23. First Mission was the 122-pound highweight and earned a Beyer of 102.
“I thought he ran really well off the layoff,” trainer Brad Cox said. “He kind of ranged up, he ran well, just really couldn’t get by. I kind of feel like there was somewhat of an inside bias that day, seemed like it to me, for what it’s worth.
“I don’t like using it as an excuse, because there’s nothing we can really do or control. It’s out of our hands. But I thought he ran against the bias and ran really well and I’m hoping he can move forward a bit. I think he will in his second run. We gave him plenty of time to recover from that first one and he’s trained forward enough since. We’ll see how it goes.”
Flavien Prat has the mount from post 3 for Godolphin.
“I think a nice stalking trip would be ideal for him,” Cox said. “Hopefully, Flavien can work out a trip with him.”
Disarm won an Oaklawn allowance March 14 with a Beyer of 96. He fought for a neck win over the Group 1-placed Bendoog. It was his first out since September.
“Loved his race back, and love how he’s trained since,” trainer Steve Asmussen said.
Disarm worked a sharp five furlongs in 1:00.20 on April 8 as part of his prep work for the Oaklawn. The earner of $1.3 million races for breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds. He will start from post 2 under Keith Asmussen.
Asmussen also saddles Red Route One, who pushed his earnings to $2.1 million for breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds with his win in last month’s Grade 3 Essex at Oaklawn. Erik Asmussen has the mount from post 8.
Joseph also will saddle two horses in the Oaklawn Handicap. Alexander Helios enters off a head win in the Razorback, a race in which he battled between horses in a three-way rush to the wire. It was the stakes debut for Alexander Helios, who is a half-brother to Preakness winner Rombauer.
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“I thought he was very gutsy,” Joseph said. “He beat some good horses. He beat Banishing, who came back to win again, and he beat First Mission, who is a very good horse. I felt like it was a very good effort, and he can build on it.”
Luis Saez has the mount from post 5.
Banishing won the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile after the Razorback. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 7 for trainer David Jacobson. Banishing is weighted at 122 pounds, the second-highest weight behind Skippylongstocking.
◗ The infield is scheduled to be open for the card, which wraps up the race week as Sunday will be dark at Oaklawn in observance of Easter. The forecast for Saturday calls for a high of 81 degrees and a small chance of a thundershower, according to AccuWeather.
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