Letruska, Ce Ce head field of five for Apple Blossom Handicap
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The champions Letruska and Ce Ce have been entered in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
Post positions for the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares were drawn Monday.
Letruska’s name came out of the box first, and she will start from post 2 under Jose Ortiz. The champion older female of 2021, she has been made the 124-pound highweight for the Apple Blossom, a race she won in 2021.
Ce Ce will start from post 5 under Victor Espinoza. The champion female sprinter of 2021 will tote 121 pounds. She won the Apple Blossom in 2020 and in more recent times won this year’s prep, the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn.
The complete field from the rail with riders and weights: Maracuja, Ricardo Santana Jr., 119; Letruska, Ortiz, 124; Clairiere, Joel Rosario, 121; Miss Imperial, Tiago Pereira, 115; and Ce Ce, Espinoza, 121.
The card also will include the Grade 2, $1 million Oaklawn Handicap, and it drew eight horses. It’s scheduled as the 11th race, and the Apple Blossom will be the fifth, it was announced during Monday’s draw.
The Oaklawn Handicap field from the rail with riders: Beau Luminarie, Florent Geroux; Thomas Shelby, David Cohen; Last Samurai, Jon Court; Idol, Ramon Vazquez; Rated R Superstar, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Plainsman, Joel Rosario; Super Stock, Isaac Castillo; and Fearless, Jose Ortiz.
Plainsman and Fearless will start as the 121-pound co-highweights in the Oaklawn Handicap.
The card also includes the Oaklawn Stakes for 3-year-olds. That race drew seven.