The Mary Rose back to dirt in Natural State
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Mary Rose likes real, live dirt and that’s what she will get Friday when she returns to Oaklawn Park for the $150,000 Natural State Breeders’ Stakes.
The one-mile race is for fillies and mares bred in Arkansas. It ushers in the final week of the meet, which ends Sunday.
The Natural State, which is a new stakes, will end at the sixteenth pole. A field of 11 is set to start, including Connie K, Unbridled Twister, and Too Pretty, who finished a respective first, second, and third in the $150,000 Downthedustyroad for Arkansas-bred fillies and mares at six furlongs March 5.
The Mary Rose, who has done her best work at two turns this meet, headed to Turfway Park for her last start and ran fifth in the $198,000 Latonia at 1 1/16 miles April 2.
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“She’s doing fantastic,” said trainer John Ortiz. “She’s back at Oaklawn, came right back after that race. She didn’t care for the Polytrack. I’m happy to have her back home where she belongs.”
The Mary Rose has registered all five of her wins at Oaklawn. Those victories include last year’s Downthedustyroad, and a pair of two-turn allowances against open company this meet for which she earned her career-high Beyer Speed Figures of 95 and 93.
“I think she just wanted to go long on the dirt from the beginning,” Ortiz said. “She’s found her niche and we’re going to keep doing what she likes, which is going long on the dirt.”
Ortiz trains The Mary Rose for her breeder, John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable. Anthony is the meet’s leading owner with 18 wins, and earlier in the season became the all-time winningest owner at Oaklawn. Anthony leads all owners in stable earnings this meet, with $1.9 million, and among his winners was Plainsman in the Grade 3, $600,000 Razorback and Caddo River in a recent stakes-quality allowance for which the homebred earned a career-high Beyer of 99. Both horses are trained by Brad Cox.
Anthony also campaigns the meet’s co-winningest horse Gar Hole, who went 4 for 5, and has won back-to-back stakes with 3-year-old homebred Whelen Springs, who earned a Beyer of 95 for his win over open company in last Saturday’s Bachelor. Gar Hole and Whelen Springs are trained by Ortiz.
The Mary Rose will attempt to keep the momentum going when she breaks from the rail under Emmanuel Esquivel.
“She likes to get out on the front, get loose on the front,” said Ortiz.
Ortiz is wrapping up his best season at Oaklawn, where he had won 26 races from 123 starts for $2.5 million in stable earnings through Wednesday. He ranks fourth in the standings. Ortiz is set to saddle Barber Road in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. The Mary Rose will be his final starter of the Oaklawn meet.
“We’ll try to go out with a big win,” he said.
◗ Oaklawn is set to race 68 dates from Dec. 9-May 6 next season, said track president Lou Cella. Arkansas Derby Day will be April 1.
◗ Apprentice Jeremy Alicea won his first race Sunday aboard Elusive Freud.