Ivan Fallunovalot could have the edge among comebackers

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The bit of recency Ivan Fallunovalot has on fellow comebacking stakes winners Brewing, Hogy, and Jake Mo in Thursday’s eighth race might give him an edge in a competitive $50,000 optional claimer at six furlongs. He is one of five stakes winners in the field, with three of his chief rivals making their first start since May.

Ivan Fallunovalot, meanwhile, last raced at the end of September, finishing fourth in the $150,000 Remington Park Sprint Cup. He’s been prepping for his return at Oaklawn.

“He’s doing great,” said Tom Howard, who trains Ivan Fallunovalot for Lewis Mathews Jr., of Bismarck, Ark. “The only thing that bothers me is we didn’t get all the work in we wanted here because of the weather. Being off the track a few days threw us off a little bit, but I think he’ll make a good showing.”

KEY CONTENDERS

Ivan Fallunovalot (Last 3 Beyers: 89-93-90)

◗ He had won four straight races up to the Remington Sprint Cup, when he finished behind such quality rivals as winner Mico Margarita, runner-up Heitai, and third-place finisher Ghost Is Clear.

“We had a pretty rough trip, and things didn’t work out,” Howard said. “Our racing luck ran out on us, I guess you might say. It was tough. There were some real good horses in there.”

◗ Following the Sprint Cup, Heitai and Castletown, who was eighth in the race, won allowances in their next start, while Wine Police, who was ninth, won the Lea County Stakes at Zia. Ivan Fallunovalot was simply given a break, said Howard, who added he didn’t want to ship the horse.

◗ Mathews claimed Ivan Fallunovalot for $25,000 at Oaklawn last March. The horse won that day, and when Howard took him over he said trainer Jack Bruner explained to him how to pronounce the horse’s name. It’s said “Ivan Falling-off-a-lot” – like I’ve been falling off a lot.

◗ The horse will break from post 4, under Calvin Borel.

Hogy (Last 3 Beyers: 70-102-90)

◗ He’s making his first start since an uncharacteristic 12th in the Grade 3 Hanshin at Arlington Park, a race he had won in May 2013.

◗ Hogy is back at the distance of his last win, an $80,000 optional claimer at Arlington on May 11, for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102.