In classier company, Raymond looks for fourth win of meet
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Raymond is like a lot of other horses this meet at Oaklawn Park in that he’s been chasing Payne.
But not on the track.
Raymond has been chasing Payne on the leaderboard of the meet’s winningest horses and can tie him atop the standings with a victory in the eighth race Sunday.
Payne’s record stood at 4 for 5 this meet through Friday. Raymond is 3 for 3 this stand, first winning a $10,000 waiver claiming race on Jan. 4, then taking back-to-back starter allowances.
“What hasn’t gone his way?” quipped trainer Tim Martin. “He just loves this place.”
Raymond is part of a field of 12 for Sunday’s race, a first-level allowance for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs that carries a claiming option of $25,000. The deep field includes Hap Hot, who is looking for his fourth straight win after building his streak at Sam Houston; Lochmoor and Willow Creek Road, who have each won stakes for Arkansas-breds and could be headed for the $200,000 Arkansas Breeders’ Championship; up-and-coming runners Crushed It and D’Angelo; and the New York-bred I’m Wide Awake.
Raymond, a seven-time winner, is a 6-year-old gelding by Into Mischief.
“There wasn’t anything else for him,” Martin said of the move into a classier allowance. “Sometimes those old class horses run good in those one-exes. I know it’s a tough race, but we’re going to give it a shot. It’s a tough race, but he ran awful good against good horses last time out. That was a tough race.”
Raymond closed for a 1 3/4-length win over Top Gun Tommy in a $12,500 starter allowance on March 8, covering six furlongs in 1:10.67. For the effort, Raymond earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 84. Tyler Bacon was aboard and will again be in the saddle Sunday from post 12.
“I think there’s a lot of speed in there,” Martin said. “He usually makes a big run, is full of run on the outside, and we definitely got the outside this time.”
Raymond is out of the Grade 2-winning mare Teen Pauline and is a half-brother to stakes winner Cambria. He is owned by Cloud Nine Racing Stable, a Missouri-based outfit led by David Allen Kunze. Martin noted the group is having an outstanding meet and said he believes Kunze has been coming to Oaklawn for about 45 years.
“They’re on cloud nine right now,” Martin said. “I think they’ve won five races out of 13 starts. They’re having a good meet, and Raymond’s the one that’s made it. They’re just a bunch of good, good guys. They’re really good people, always want to race at Oaklawn.”
And now, they have one of the meet’s winningest horses.
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