Count Fleet Sprint gives early glimpse of title contenders

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Grade 3, $350,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn Park could prove to be a key race on the road to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

It was last year.

Mitole won the Count Fleet over Whitmore, and the two went on to finish a respective first and third in the championship race at Santa Anita in November.

This year the Breeders’ Cup is at Keeneland, and Kentucky is a home base for seven of the 11 horses set to run Saturday in the Count Fleet, including Grade 1 winners Whitmore and Hog Creek Hustle and Grade 3 winner Lexitonian. The Count Fleet also drew Flagstaff, the 122-pound highweight off his win in the Grade 2 San Carlos at Santa Anita; fellow stakes winners Bobby’s Wicked One, Mr. Jagermeister, Nitrous, Share the Upside, and Wendell Fong; and romping Gulfstream Park allowance winner Hidden Scroll.

“It’s a good influx of competition because of the limited opportunities,” said Ron Moquett, who co-owns and trains Whitmore. “It’s going to be pretty contentious.”

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down most tracks in North America and will lead to a fans-free grandstand Saturday at Oaklawn, where the track also puts on the $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap. The Apple Blossom is one of just two Grade 1 offerings in the region, with the other the Arkansas Derby on the closing-day card May 2.

The forecast for Saturday is for a high of 65 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain, according to The Weather Channel.

Count Fleet (Race 8)

KEY CONTENDERS

Flagstaff, by Speightstown

Last 3 Beyers: 96-97-96

◗ He won the San Carlos on March 7 to improve his career record to 5 for 11. Since the start, Flagstaff has worked a bullet five-eighths in 59.40 seconds April 12 at Santa Anita.

“Other than one race run at a mile, he’s been remarkably consistent,” trainer John Sadler said. “He doesn’t have a bad race on his form. He won easy the other day, just dominated, and he’s running good numbers. He’s the highweight for a reason.”

◗ Flagstaff on Saturday will be shortening up from seven furlongs for the six-furlong Count Fleet.

“We feel anywhere between six and a half and seven may be ideal, but he can certainly win at six,” Sadler said.

◗ Flagstaff is a half-brother to champion Game Winner owned by Hronis Racing and Lane’s End Racing.

◗ Joel Rosario has the mount from post 2.

Whitmore, by Pleasantly Perfect

Last 3 Beyers: 104-100-89

◗ He is attempting to become the first three-time winner of the Count Fleet, one start after becoming the first four-time winner of the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn. The 7-year-old won the Count Fleet at ages 4 and 5 and has registered six of his nine stakes wins at Oaklawn, where he is a fan favorite.

“I’ve always wanted to have a horse that people cheer for – that’s what got me in the game, the love of the horse,” Moquett said. “To have a horse that’s been so consistent and tries so hard and people appreciate him, it means everything.”

◗ Whitmore will break from post 9 under Joe Talamo.

“We’ve got experience over the track and we’ve got a very versatile running style, but there’s some really talented horses coming in,” Moquett said Wednesday.

“We’re excited for the race.”

◗ Whitmore, who will go over $3 million in career earnings with a win or runner-up finish, also races for Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners.

Bobby’s Wicked One, by Speightstown

Last 3 Beyers: 103-101-62

◗ He enters off back-to-back stakes wins at Fair Grounds, taking the Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28 and the Duncan F. Kenner on Jan. 18. He’s since been targeting the Count Fleet.

“If you want to try to make the Breeders’ Cup, you can’t just run in November, December, January, February, March,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said Monday. “You’ve got to space things out a little bit.

“It didn’t make sense to van him up and back for the Hot Springs. Sprinters run well fresh. We just decided to have him kind of beating his chest for this race, and he’s acting that way right now.”

◗ Bobby’s Wicked One, who won last year’s Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland, defeated only two others in the Kenner. He covered six furlongs in 1:08.55 while winning by 4 1/4 lengths over Hog Creek Hustle.

“It scratched down to three and he ended up being the lone speed by a mile,” Stall said of Bobby’s Wicked One. “It was an impressive race. I guess the clock and the way he won were the most impressive things.”

◗ Bobby’s Wicked One, who races for Autumn Hill Farm, has since had a chance to work at Oaklawn.

“He likes to train,” Stall said. “He’s a tiger of a horse, a very aggressive attitude – you’ve got to keep an eye on him. That’s okay. He lays it all down on the racetrack. He’d run through a brick wall in the afternoon.”

◗ Miguel Mena has the mount from post 4.

Mr. Jagermeister, by Atta Boy Roy

Last 3 Beyers: 98-97-86

◗ He enters off a runner-up finish to Whitmore in the Hot Springs. Mr. Jagermeister set the pace and finished 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner in a race that went in 1:08.54.

“I can actually see a lot reason to improve off that effort,” said Valorie Lund, who trains Mr. Jagermeister. “We shipped in here, breezed, and ran. It’s been my experience horses do better when they have an out over this surface. I think he’ll step up and run a better race, and with a horse like him that’s a nice thought for a trainer.”

◗ Mr. Jagermeister, an eight-time stakes winner, will break from post 6 under Terry Thompson.