Ivan Fallunovalot looks hard to deny in Hot Springs

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Ivan Fallunovalot has gone from $25,000 claim to 108 Beyer Speed Figure earner, a leap that will make him a strong favorite Saturday in the $100,000 Hot Springs at Oaklawn Park. The race drew seven older horses, all of them stakes winners, including Gentlemen’s Bet, Unbridled’s Note, and Zee Bros. The Hot Springs, at six furlongs, is the final stepping-stone to next month’s Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.

Ivan Fallunovalot is a candidate for that race following back-to-back wins at this Oaklawn meet. He captured a Jan. 22 optional-claiming sprint with a Beyer of 108, and the number places him in a three-way tie atop the list of the highest Beyers put up at distances of a mile or less this year in North America. Ivan Fallunovalot backed up the performance last month, when he captured the $100,000 King Cotton at Oaklawn with a Beyer of 105.

It’s a long way from the $25,000 tag he was offered for last March at Oaklawn, where Arkansas resident and longtime owner Lewis Mathews Jr. dropped a claim for Ivan Fallunovalot. The horse won that day and has gone on to win five of his six starts for his new barn.

“As we’ve gone along, he seems to have come to himself,” said Tom Howard, who trains Ivan Fallunovalot. “I think he’s aware of what’s going on. After his works, he seems to put on a different face. He starts getting serious. He does have a serious side to him. He separates play from work. He’s pretty sharp. He knows his business.”

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KEY CONTENDERS

Ivan Fallunovalot (Last 3 Beyers: 105-108-89)

◗ He showed versatility in the King Cotton, where he went with the pace after breaking on top from the rail, then came back off the lead and rallied in the stretch for a 2 3/4-length win over multiple stakes winner Alsvid. One start prior, he wired the field in the optional claimer at Oaklawn.

“We figured they’d throw some speed at us, and so we were prepared for it, not to get in a speed duel right away,” Howard said. “I was very pleased with the way he ran ... we live to fight another battle.”

◗ Ivan Fallunovalot drew a more tactical post this time, getting gate No. 6 in the field of seven. The draw could give jockey Calvin Borel options.

Gentlemen’s Bet (Last 3 Beyers: 89-94-95)

◗ He finished third in an Oaklawn optional claimer Feb. 14, his first out since running third in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.