Oaklawn Park: Fair Grounds shippers may have fitness edge for Essex
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Street Spice, Voodoo Storm, and Flashy Sunrise might have an edge in the $100,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. All three are shipping in from a location where their schedules have not been compromised by the winter weather that forced the cancellation of five days of training here the past week.
The horses are invading from Fair Grounds in New Orleans, where Street Spice was fifth in the $97,000 Louisiana Handicap in his first start in about six weeks Jan. 18; Voodoo Storm missed by a neck after having traffic trouble in an optional $62,500 claimer Jan 31; and Flashy Sunrise had been working steadily toward his first start since December.
“Usually, we wouldn’t run Voodoo Storm back in two weeks, but he’s got a couple of things going for him,” trainer Tim Glyshaw said. “One is we’ve been able to train every day and people here haven’t. So, if you’re going to take a shot, you might as well.”
Voodoo Storm, to be ridden by Oaklawn leading jockey Norberto Arroyo, Jr., shipped north Thursday for the Essex after his stablemate, Taptowne, a leading contender for the 1 1/16-mile race, passed after missing a work due to the weather. Glyshaw said it’s the second time Voodoo Storm has run in a race the barn originally planned for Taptowne. The last time it happened, Voodoo Storm captured the biggest race of his career, in the $130,000 Mountaineer Mile in November.
The Essex, which will share a card with the $100,000 King Cotton, drew 10. Among the Oaklawn-based starters are Stealcase, the 118-pound starting highweight off an allowance win here on Jan. 26; Stachys, looking for the sixth stakes win of his career; and Win Willy, a multiple Grade 2 winner of $1 million making his second start since June.
Street Spice earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 93 for his comeback race in the Louisiana Handicap, the best last-race Beyer in the Essex field. He will be making his second start back since Nov. 30, when third to Last Gunfighter in the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup.
New faces in King Cotton
The King Cotton, rescheduled after the cancellation of racing Feb. 8, was redrawn, and the original field has grown from seven to 10 starters. The main players all returned, including Alsvid, seeking his seventh stakes win, and Anillo, in from Southern California.
Apprehender is among the notable new faces. He won the King Cotton, for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs, last year and will be making his first start since the Oaklawn meet in 2013. Apprehender was sidelined after the Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint, a race in which he was pulled up and found to have a bone chip in a knee, trainer Chris Richard said.
“The recommendation was time off,” he said. “He’s come back good.”
Richard said he is pleased with the horse’s fitness leading into his first start in nine months.
“I feel pretty good from a fitness standpoint,” he said. “He’s gotten quite a few works underneath him. He’s been here since December and was with me in Louisville.”
Richard said his concern is sharpness, given the long layoff.
Bull Dozer, another new face, will be seeking the 16th win of his career.