Moquett looks to continue fast start with Speed Bias

Trainer Ron Moquett rocketed to the top of the Oaklawn Park standings over opening weekend and will attempt to keep the barn’s momentum going when he saddles Speed Bias in the featured eighth race Friday.

The entry-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up highlights the first card of the meet’s second week of racing. It will be run over a mile, with the race to end at the sixteenth pole.

A well-matched field of 10 has signed on, including Grantham, who was the runner-up in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March; Fair Dinkum, who comes off a third-place finish in a first-level allowance at Churchill Downs; and Deus Ex Machina, who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner General Quarters.

“I think there’s three or four horses that I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them were the favorite,” Moquett said.

Moquett went 4 for 8 over opening weekend and sits in a tie atop the standings with Robertino Diodoro. The fast start was particularly gratifying for Moquett, who long has wintered at Oaklawn.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets.

“I think we led the league in seconds last year, so eventually those things are supposed to catch up through attrition,” Moquett said. “We’re happy it happened here, with the big purses. We felt like if we got the right horses in and had some racing luck, we’d be competitive.”

Speed Bias is shortening up some in distance Friday after he got up for a nose win over maiden-special rivals at 1 1/16 miles on Oct. 16 at Keeneland.

“The only question I have is distance,” Moquett said. “He’s training really well. He ran a huge race at Keeneland, where he beat a quality group, and so far, he’s liked this track. He has to step forward, as all maidens do whenever they break their maiden and try winners. With a clean trip, I think we can be right there.”

Rafael Bejarano will be aboard from post 4 for Keith Johnston and William Sparks. Bejarano was on all four of Moquett’s winners opening weekend at Oaklawn and overall won five races to rank second in the standings.

As for Speed Bias, he’s one of the best bred runners in the field as a son of champion Uncle Mo and the mare Hot Summer, who was a multiple Grade 3 winner of $298,959.

Fair Dinkum was a maiden-special winner in September at Churchill and one start later made an impact when third against winners as the favorite. Francisco Arrieta has the mount for trainer Joe Sharp, who went 2 for 3 over opening weekend at Oaklawn.

Grantham has raced once since the Tampa Bay Derby and finished second in a first-level allowance Nov. 9 at Churchill. He is moving back to two turns for his second start off the bench, and his maiden win came at the configuration. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr., who missed opening weekend while serving a riding suspension, is back in action for the meet and has the mount from post 7 for trainer Mike Maker.

Others who will get good support include Ten Gauge, who owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure, an 80, and Film Star, who is returning to the distance that produced his best Beyer, an 85.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.