Booth ‘very confident' heading into Count Fleet
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Booth has emerged as one of the nation’s top sprinters over the winter at Oaklawn Park, and trainer Steve Asmusssen is pleased with the horse’s attitude coming into his biggest test yet, the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on Saturday.
“He’s confident,” Asmussen said. “Very confident.”
Booth has won his last two starts by a combined margin of seven lengths. He put up a Beyer Speed Figure of 105 in the Commodore overnight stakes on Feb. 24 and returned to earn a 107 for his effort in the Grade 3 Whitmore on March 15.
The Count Fleet is a six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up and is the main event in the local sprint series for older horses. Booth has been made the 123-pound highweight, while $1.5 million earner Tejano Twist is weighted next at 120 and Grade 2 winner Anarchist will tote 119. The Count Fleet shares a card with the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap, where Thorpedo Anna will be a heavy favorite.
Asmussen said Booth, a 4-year-old son of champion sprinter Mitole, has long been well regarded. He won his debut on the front end at 2, earning a Beyer of 96, and he’s since taken his game to new heights. The triple-digit Beyers that Booth has earned of late are the two best numbers put up this meet at Oaklawn, and the 107 is the year’s highest from a male at distances of up to a mile on the main track.
“The Commodore, that was the breakout race for him,” Asmussen said. “The Whitmore, it was what we were hoping for. For him to duplicate those two Beyers makes the Count Fleet a very exciting race for us, and obviously we’re very anxious to see if he can do it again.”
Booth broke on top in both races and kept going, taking full advantage of the explosiveness his fast-twitch muscles afford him, said Asmsussen. Booth set quick paces, covering six furlongs in the Commodore in 1:08.64 and six furlongs in the Whitmore in 1:09.79.
Erik Asmussen was aboard for both wins and has the mount from post 3 for Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm, and Whispering Oaks. Steve Asmussen will be looking for his fourth straight win in the Count Fleet and his seventh overall. He won the race with Mitole in 2019.
Booth appears to be the controlling speed in the Count Fleet. Anarchist could settle into a tracking position when he breaks from post 6, as could Grade 3 winner Ryvit from post 7.
A contested pace would serve the cause of closer Tejano Twist, who captured the King Cotton in February at Oaklawn and who was second in last year’s Count Fleet. Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount for trainer Chris Hartman.
Payne, who is 10, is the meet’s winningest horse with four victories heading into the Count Fleet. He’s one of two entered by trainer David Jacobson, who also saddles Grade 3 winner Happy American.
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