HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Randy Morse’s strong meet at Oaklawn Park has been highlighted by the performances of some of the barn’s sprinters. One of its very best, multiple stakes winner Asternia, will see action on Friday. “She’s a pretty nice mare,” said Morse. Asternia goes in the ninth race, a ratings handicap for older fillies and mares at six furlongs. The field of eight includes stakes winners Benedetta, Mo for Us, and Demidanu, as well as the sharp Filly Crystal. Asternia was ticketed for last week’s Carousel Stakes, but when the race did not fill, she landed in the ratings handicap. She enters off a bold runner-up finish to Majestic Oops from post 2 in the $150,000 American Beauty on Feb. 13 here. The race was Asternia’s first start since August. “I thought she ran really well,” Morse said. “She had the inside and she was kind of forced all the way. She kept running on down to the wire. I thought she ran good.” :: Live racing action at Oaklawn Park! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Majestic Oops, who was making her first start since the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, covered six furlongs in a brisk 1:09.52. She is entered back in the Grade 2, $400,000 Azeri here Saturday. Asternia will be meeting some familiar rivals Friday, as Benedetta was third and Gloriette was fourth in the American Beauty. Asternia will start from the rail under Luis Saez. The strategy will be simple for the mare, who has natural speed. “You pretty much leg the rider up and it’s in their hands,” Morse said. “You’ve got to try to get out of there. You got to get out of there.” A two-time stakes winner who has earned $640,477, Asternia is a 5-year-old mare by Astern. She could be sitting on a peak season for Morse and his partners, Randy Patterson and Sam Vogel. “She’s doing really well, and that’s what we’re hoping for, bigger things,” said Morse. Morse has won 12 races from 62 starts at the Oaklawn meet to rank third in the standings behind leader Steve Asmussen and second-leading trainer Mark Casse. Morse’s winners include Dreaminblue, an up-and-coming 4-year-old sprinter who this meet has won an overnight stakes and a second-level allowance in his most recent race on Feb. 7. For those efforts, he earned respective Beyer Speed Figures of 98 and 97. “He’s run two really good races,” Morse said. “We’re looking at the Whitmore, but it’s not set in stone. There’s some pretty good sprinters around here. This next step, in that kind of race, it’s a different level.” The Grade 3, $250,000 Whitmore will be run over six furlongs on March 14 at Oaklawn. “Long range, I want to get him to Churchill and run him seven-eighths of a mile,” Morse said. “That would be perfect.” Dreaminblue, a son of Street Boss, races for Patterson, Vogel, and Joe Morgan. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.