Skelly back at home for Count Fleet repeat bid

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Somebody get that horse a cape!

The super sprinter Skelly is quicker out of the blocks than Usain Bolt. He’s been known to break the heart of his competition after a quarter of a mile. And his kickback could stir up a dust storm.

Those qualities and more will serve Skelly well on Saturday, when he seeks to win the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for the second year in a row at Oaklawn Park.

As the 125-pound highweight, Skelly is part of a high-quality field of eight that includes fellow millionaire Tejano Twist, seven-time stakes winner Jaxon Traveler, Grade 3 winner Ryvit, and the well-bred Code Five.

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But the horse to beat in the six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up remains Skelly.

“Skelly’s a monster,” said trainer Todd Fincher, who will saddle multiple stakes winner Perfect Dude.

Skelly will be making his first start since a trip to Saudi Arabia, where he ran second in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint off back-to-back wins at Oaklawn. Since the Feb. 24 race, two runners who finished behind Skelly have returned to capture stakes, the most prominent being Tuz in the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai.

“We’re happy to have him back, happy to have him back in at Oaklawn,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Skelly for Red Lane Thoroughbreds. “Very proud of how he ran at Saudi and obviously, he’s a formidable horse to have in the Count Fleet.

“He ran his race in Saudi, he ran beautifully. That’s just a long, long stretch there.”

Skelly had won seven straight races leading up to the start in the Middle East.

“The consistency of what he’s done – seven races over here in the states in 1:09 and change – seven times in a row!

“He’s just quick.”

Skelly will break from post 4 under regular rider Ricardo Santana, Jr.

“Hopefully, he gets away from the gates cleanly and makes it as smooth a trip as possible,” said Asmussen.

Skelly won last year’s Count Fleet with a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 105 and he equaled that number in the King Cotton on Feb. 3. It’s the best Beyer put up so far this season at Oaklawn.

Asmussen has won five runnings of the Count Fleet.

Perfect Dude invades off an allowance win at 6 1/2 furlongs at Sunland Park.

“It’s probably a little short for this horse,” Fincher said of the six-furlong Count Fleet. “This horse, a little farther, he really likes. But he’s pretty fast. He’s a nice horse.”

Jaxon Traveler, Tejano Twist, and Ryvit, who finished a respective first, second, and third in last month’s Grade 3 Whitmore at Oaklawn, get a rematch Saturday.

Code Five is by Top Hit and is one of seven stakes winners from the mare French Debutante. They include Grade 2 winner Uh Oh Bango, Grade 3 winner Top Fortitude, and multiple stakes winner Ez Dreamer.

The Count Fleet is part of the annual Racing Festival of the South, a series of major stakes over the last portion of the Oaklawn meet that runs through May 5. The Count Fleet shares Saturday’s card with the Grade 1 Apple Blossom.

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