Count Fleet Sprint: Off track should be no concern for Jackie's Warrior
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Champion Jackie’s Warrior ran one of his best races on a wet track, and he could get similar conditions Saturday when he makes his 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
Rains have pummeled Hot Springs since the early morning hours, with training delayed an hour due to lightning in the area. Training was later called off for the remainder of the morning at 9:30 a.m. Central.
It is currently raining at 9:45 a.m., and while the stewards do not yet have an official track condition, they said they expected the card to open as either sloppy or muddy. First post is 12:10 p.m. Central. The stewards said the weather is scheduled to clear out about 1 p.m.
There are no current scratches from the Count Fleet. It is the 11th race on a 12-race card. The scheduled post time for the Count Fleet is 5:42 p.m.
Jackie’s Warrior won the Grade 2 Amsterdam on a sloppy track last August at Saratoga. He led throughout for a 7 1/4-length victory and earned one of his best career Beyer Speed Figures, a 102. In two other wet-track starts, Jackie’s Warrior was third in the slop in the Grade 3 Southwest at two turns in 2021 at Oaklawn and second by a neck on a good track in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens in June 2021.
Jackie's Warrior has a wet-track Tomlinson Rating of 410, the second best in the field behind the 422 boasted by Letsgetlucky.
Bob’s Edge, the probable second choice in the Count Fleet, has made three starts on wet tracks and has run first, second, or third in those races. He won his maiden in the slop in November 2020 at Churchill Downs. Bob's Edge led throughout in that race, but he has used closing tactics for his wins in the King Cotton and Grade 3 Whitmore. He has a wet-track Tomlinson of 380.
View full race preview here.