Melatonin points to Oaklawn Handicap

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita Handicap winner Melatonin will ship to Oaklawn Park for his next start April 16 in the Grade 2, $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap, trainer David Hofmans said Tuesday.

Melatonin scored a 16-1 upset in the March 12 Big Cap, winning by 4 1/4 lengths under Joe Talamo. The win was his first in a graded stakes and second straight around two turns following a highly rated allowance win Feb. 5.

Hofmans considered the Grade 2, $1.25 million Charles Town Classic on April 23 for Melatonin’s next start before opting for the Oaklawn Handicap.

“It’s easy to get to, it’s a safe track, and the bigger track was part of our reasoning,” Hofmans said. “He’s never been on a smaller track.”

The Oaklawn oval is one mile; Charles Town is six furlongs.

Melatonin, owned by Susan Osborne’s Tarabilla Farms, is a 5-year-old gelding sired by Kodiak Kowboy. He has won four races and $768,552 from 11 starts and is 3 for 6 since he was transferred to Hofmans.

Hofmans has not started a horse at Oaklawn since 2002, when the filly Ask Me No Secrets won the Grade 3 Oaklawn Breeders’ Cup Stakes.