Oaklawn Park notes: Win Willy eyes $1 million

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Win Willy can become a millionaire Sunday at Oaklawn if he wins the seventh race. He should start as a solid favorite in the $75,000 optional claimer for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles. Others in the seven-horse field include Sabercat, the 2011 winner of the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot.

Win Willy has won 10 of 29 starts for earnings of $977,887. A win Sunday would be worth $33,300, and it would lift the 7-year-old's career bankroll to $1,011,187. He comes into the race in good form, off a pair of close third-place finishes in back-to-back stakes at Oaklawn, the $75,000 Fifth Season and the $100,000 Essex.

"He's run so hard in defeat the last two times I was looking for a softer spot," said Mac Robertson, who trains Win Willy for Jer-Mar Stables. "A win would help his self-esteem.

"He's running really well right now, and the track should be wet, which he likes. It seems like everything is going in his favor right now."

Robertson said with the right kind of performance, it's possible Win Willy could run back in the Grade 2, $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 13, a race he won in 2011.
Robby Albarado has the mount Sunday.

◗ The 3-year-old Officer Alex returns to racing around one turn in the fifth. The last time he sprinted he won the $76,000 Pennsylvania Nursery at Parx.