Principe Guilherme tries Oaklawn in optional claimer

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Principe Guilherme, who made some noise on the Kentucky Derby trail last year at Fair Grounds when he ran second to Instilled Regard in the Grade 3 Lecomte following an 11-length allowance win in New Orleans, makes his Oaklawn debut Thursday.

Principe Guilherme goes in the eighth race, and optional $50,000 claiming sprint at six furlongs that carries second-level allowance conditions. He is part of a 10-hosre field that includes Curate, who won the first two starts of his career last fall in Kentucky with respective Beyer Speed Figures of 94 and 95.

Principe Guilherme earned a Beyer of 93 in his last start, when he was third to Audible in the $200,000 Cherokee Run at seven furlongs Nov. 3 at Churchill. He shows a forward series of works at Oaklawn since January and will break from post 10. Trainer Steve Asmussen has given the mount to Ricardo Santana Jr. Principe Guilherme is a son of Tapit and the Grade 1-winning mare Aubby K who races for his breeder, Three Chimneys Farm.