Skelly takes early lead, keeps it in Count Fleet Sprint Handicap
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Skelly had some Count Fleet Sprint Handicap specialists in his corner Saturday when he won the Grade 3, $500,000 race by 2 1/4 lengths over Strobe.
It was another length back in third to favorite Tejano Twist.
Skelly is trained by Steve Asmussen, who has now won the race five times. Skelly’s regular rider, Ricardo Santana Jr., picked up his sixth win in the Count Fleet.
Together, Asmussen and Santana have teamed for four wins in the stakes that continued the Racing Festival of the South.
Skelly ($14) broke on top Saturday and was soon clear through an opening quarter in 21.44 seconds. He proceeded to take the field through a half-mile in 44.46 and went on to cover six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.20.
“Ricardo got him away from there away well and he was in control of the race,” Asmussen said in a post-race interview conducted by Oaklawn.
The track announced the win was the trainer's 100th in a stakes race at Oaklawn.
Skelly was winning his third straight race, all this meet at Oaklawn. The Count Fleet marked his stakes debut after he won a first-level allowance in February and a second-level allowance in March. For his effort in the latter race he earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 100.
Skelly is a 4-year-old son of Practical Joke who races for Red Lane Thoroughbreds. He has now won 4 of 8 starts and the first-place check of $295,750 on Saturday pushed his earnings to $549,400.
Asmussen and Santana first won the Count Fleet together in 2013 with Justin Phillip. They also had success in the race with Lemon Drop Dream in 2014 and Mitole in 2019. Asmussen additionally won the race in 2022 with Jackie’s Warrior. Santana won the race in 2017 and 2018 with Whitmore.
The Count Fleet continued the Racing Festival of the South, when Oaklawn puts on a number of major stakes over the month of April. It shared a card with the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap. The Grade 2, $1 million Oaklawn Handicap is next Saturday.
The Count Fleet was run under sunny skies, but a forecast for a pending thunderstorm led Oaklawn officials to close down the infield a few races prior to the race. Oaklawn was able to have riders up for the Count Fleet in the infield saddling area Saturday.
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