Howbeit okay after stumbling and losing rider in Oak Tree Sprint
Howbeit never got a chance to perform as the 3-5 favorite in Saturday’s $75,900 Oak Tree Sprint at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.
A few strides after the start of the six-furlong race, Howbeit stumbled severely and unseated jockey Evin Roman. Howbeit ran with the field, and caused trouble when he carried a few rivals wide in the stretch.
On Sunday, trainer Mark Glatt said that Howbeit grabbed a quarter, but otherwise emerged from the incident without injury.
“He was no worse for the wear,” Glatt said. “Hopefully, he’ll bounce back from this and we’ll take another crack at them soon.”
Howbeit was drawn on the inside in the Oak Tree Sprint. Glatt expressed concern on Sunday that the inside of the six-furlong chute at Pleasanton is a deeper portion of the track.
The race was won by 9-1 Cool Mountain Lad, a 4-year-old gelding owned by William Lordan, Timothy O’Leary, and Larry Powers and trained by Victor Trujillo.
Cool Mountain Lad, who has won 6 of 16 starts and earned $181,154, finished a head in front of 9-2 Ultimate Bango, who was carried wide by Howbeit on the turn.