Apple Blossom Handicap: Jockey strategy could be key in short field
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Strategy is important in every race, but perhaps even more so in a small field of quality runners. At least that could be the case Saturday, when five top fillies and mares go in the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
The stellar cast boasts champions Letruska and Ce Ce, Grade 1 winners Clairiere and Maracuja, and eight-time stakes winner Miss Imperial.
The small field makes for more running room on the track, but at the same time it could also make for a tighter race given the quality of the field. All of the speed is legitimate and serious closers will have less traffic to negotiate.
“Depending on where you draw, and whether you’re riding a favorite or not, it can actually be more troublesome than a bigger field,” said Gary Stevens, the retired Hall of Fame rider who is now a jockey agent at Oaklawn. “There always seems to be one that gets in your way.
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“In this case, this is such a standout field, looking at the race, it’s pretty straightforward with Letruska drawn where she’s at, down on the inside having speed, and Ce Ce drawn on the outside, and Clairiere a come-from-behinder. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where everyone needs to be in the race.”
However, the complexion of any race can change as soon as the gates open, Stevens said. And that might force riders to employ new strategies.
“Let’s say Letruska misses the break,” Stevens said. “Then, the whole game changes. Miss Imperial will go. Ce Ce might be in the garden spot. Letruska will be looking for a way out the whole trip. Those are the things riders are thinking about – and these are all good riders. Every rider in this race, they’re all multiple Grade 1 winners.”
Stevens won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Ce Ce’s dam, Miss Houdini, back in 2002. As far as strategy, he has his own take on the Apple Blossom.
“I know if I was riding Ce Ce, I’d let her bounce away from the starting gate and I’m not going to let Letruska have an easy time of it,” Stevens said. “I don’t mean I’m going to hook her early on – just keep things honest up front.”
Stevens said his goal would be to prompt the leader into an extended run, rather than just a sprint to the wire.
The ties Stevens has to Ce Ce extend beyond Miss Houdini. He also won two Grade 1 races with Miss Houdini’s dam, Magical Maiden.
In his role as an agent, Stevens has Tiago Pereira on Miss Imperial in the Apple Blossom. His other rider, Geovanni Franco, has been getting on Letruska the last few mornings for trainer Fausto Gutierrez. Letruska will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.
“Geovanni and Fausto are friends,” Stevens said. “He told me, ‘I’m getting on Letruska,’ and he was really, really excited.”
Stevens said Franco has been jogging Letruska.
“He said, ‘She has an attitude, she’s tough and she’s a little bit stubborn. She’s a good thing.’ Those are all qualities of a good one. I watched her [Friday] morning and she looked great out on the racetrack. She was just glowing.”
Stevens said he will have both Franco and Pereira at Churchill Downs, with Pereira heading up after the April 30 card at Oaklawn. Franco is scheduled to ride through the close of the local meet May 8.
But the first order of business, Stevens said, is to see what unfolds in the five-horse Apple Blossom.
** Clairiere’s work for the Apple Blossom on April 10 came in company with fellow Grade 1 winner Super Stock, according to clockers at Oaklawn. The pair went five-eighths in 1:00.20, with clockers carrying them through splits of 12 seconds for the opening eighth of a mile, 23.40 for the quarter, 36 seconds for three-eighths, then galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.60. Super Stock runs later on the card, in the Oaklawn Handicap.