Coastal Charm takes early lead, keeps it all the way in Dig A Diamond
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Coastal Charm became a stakes winner Saturday when she jumped out to the lead in the $150,000 Dig A Diamond at Oaklawn Park and never looked back for a 2 1/4-length win over Gunning.
It was another nose back in third to Butterbean.
The Dig A Diamond, which was for fillies and mares at a mile, was one of two stakes on the card. Ryvit captured the $150,000 Bachelor.
Coastal Charm ($19.60) was making her stakes debut and broke on top and proceeded to set fractions of 24.01 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.76 for the half-mile, and 1:13.36 for six furlongs, pushed along by Lovely Ride. Coastal Charm continued on strongly through the stretch, covering the distance on a muddy, sealed track in 1:39.03.
Martin Garcia was aboard the winner for trainer Steve Hobby.
“I didn’t expect to get the lead,” Hobby said. “I thought there was a lot of speed, but she broke sharp, had the rail and they kind of let her go. Martin did a wonderful job doling that speed out.
“It was fun.”
Coastal Charm is a daughter of Ghostzapper who races for HWL Partnership. She has now won 4 of 9 starts for earnings of $249,480.
Hobby said plans for Coastal Charm are to be determined. He said she will ship Monday to Churchill Downs.
“We’ll digest this one first and we’ll figure things out,” Hobby said. “It looks like she’s going the right way.”
Ryvit takes Bachelor
One race later, Ryvit gave trainer Steve Asmussen his eighth win in the Bachelor when he wired his rivals in the six-furlong race for 3-year-olds. He won by two lengths under Asmussen’s son, jockey Keith James Asmussen.
Mo Strike finished second in his 3-year-old debut, while it was another 2 1/2 lengths back in third to Arman.
Ryvit ($7.40) ran the opening quarter in 21.86 seconds while under pressure from Tyler’s Tribe, and continued to lead through a half-mile in 45.78. The winner covered the distance on a muddy, sealed track in 1:11.16.
Ryvit is a son of Competitive Edge. He was winning his first stakes and came into the race off an allowance win at Oaklawn.
Von Hemel retires at 88
Trainer Don Von Hemel, the patriarch of a racing family, retired during a winner’s circle ceremony Saturday at Oaklawn. He was honored after the seventh race. Von Hemel is the father of trainers Donnie Von Hemel and Kelly Von Hemel.
Oaklawn produced a video about Don Von Hemel that aired following the race and in remarks the trainer offered appreciation to many entities in racing and also thanked his wife, Roylynn, to whom he has been married since 1959.
Don Von Hemel has raced in numerous jurisdictions and long has wintered at Oaklawn. He has won graded stakes with Smack Smack, Now I Know, No Spend No Glow, and Mariah’s Storm. Don Von Hemel is a native of Manter, Kansas.
*First Empress, who was pulled up at the top of the stretch in the seventh race Saturday at Oaklawn, had to be euthanized, confirmed the stewards at Oaklawn Park. She sustained severe injuries to her right foreleg, including a condylar fracture that was a compound fracture, according to the stewards. First Empress was a 6-year-old mare by Cairo Prince who won 12 of 40 starts for earnings of $185,543.
*Attendance ontrack was an estimated 25,000 and handle on the 11-race card from all sources was $9.2 million.
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