Ivan Fallunovalot seeks three-peat in King Cotton

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Ivan Fallunovalot and Apprehender will each be bidding to become the first three-time winner of the King Cotton Stakes on Saturday, when the sprinters square off in the $125,000 renewal of the Oaklawn race inaugurated in 1948.

Ivan Fallunovalot has won the last two runnings of the King Cotton; Apprehender won the six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up in 2013 and 2014. They are part of a nine-horse field that includes last-out stakes winners Crewman, Recount, and Rockport Kat.

Ivan Fallunovalot brings one additional streak into the King Cotton: He will be seeking his fifth consecutive win in a string that started in this race a year ago. Ivan Fallunovalot has registered some of his most significant wins at Oaklawn and is gearing up for the local stakes series for his division that concludes with the Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on April 15.

“This is his main goal, this meet,” trainer Tom Howard said. “This is what we kind of aim at because this series lines up like he likes. You’ve got about a month in between each one of them. It works out good for him.”

Ivan Fallunovalot is 5 for 7 at Oaklawn, which also is where he recorded his best Beyer Speed Figure, a 107.

King Cotton (Race 8)

KEY CONTENDERS

Ivan Fallunovalot, by Valid Expectations
Last 3 Beyers: 99-92-92

◗ He will be making his first start since a 4 1/2-length win in the Grade 3 De Francis Memorial Dash on Nov. 19 at Laurel. For his return, he shows a series of breezes at Oaklawn.

“He does good with the long break,” Howard said. “It’s time to pick it up and go on with it, and he’s telling me he’s ready to race.”

◗ Ivan Fallunovalot, owned by Lewis Matthews Jr., ranks seventh in Mike Watchmaker’s sprint-division ratings in Daily Racing Form. The horse’s current win streak includes the $150,000 David M. Vance Sprint on Sept. 25 at Remington.

◗ Ivan Fallunovalot will break from post 2 in the King Cotton.

“I prefer a little farther out, but you gotta take what you got,” Howard said. “You just have to kind of change some game plan a little bit, adjust, but he’s always managed to be able to do so.”

◗ Calvin Borel will ride him in the King Cotton for the third straight year.

Apprehender, by Posse
Last 3 Beyers: 97-82-80

◗ He exits an optional $62,500 claiming sprint Jan. 15 at Oaklawn in which he finished second to Whitmore. The race went in a blazing 1:08.80.

◗ Alex Birzer has the mount from post 4 for Dream Farm and trainer Gene Jacquot.