Sporting Chance drills at Oaklawn
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Sporting Chance, the most accomplished young horse at Oaklawn, on Monday had his second work since winning the Grade 1 Hopeful in September at Saratoga.
Jockey Gary Stevens, who was up for the horse’s three-eighths work Jan. 9, was again in the saddle for trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Sporting Chance went a half-mile in 47.60 seconds Monday. The track was fast on a sunny morning, with temperatures in the 30s. Oaklawn clockers caught Sporting Chance’s final quarter in 23 seconds and carried him galloping out five-eighths in 1:00.40.
Lukas said Monday that Sporting Chance’s first start of the year will be decided based on how his training progresses. He said the horse could return in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest on Feb. 19 or the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel on March 17.
Lukas has some other promising young horses in the barn. Bravazo, who last year ran second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, won his 3-year-old debut Saturday at Oaklawn. He battled Ezmosh to the wire in an optional $62,500 claiming race at a mile, edging that one by a neck under Stevens. Bravazo covered the distance in 1:37.74 and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 88.
“Bravazo’s pretty nice,” Lukas said. “He ran a real super race. Gary really liked him. He said he was strong, he finished up. And that was a nice horse right next to him.”
Lukas said there was one other significant note on the win. The race was split, and Bravazo’s time was quicker than the second division time of 1:39.62.
“He will show up now somewhere down the line in one of these prep races,” Lukas said.
Another promising 3-year-old for the barn this meet is Transgress, who won a maiden special Friday at Oaklawn with a Beyer of 87.
“That horse is a very talented horse,” Lukas said of the son of Into Mischief who was ridden by Stevens. “We always felt like Transgress was right up there with anything we had in the barn.”
Lukas has gotten off to a fast start at the meet, winning three races from eight starts to sit atop the standings in a four-way tie through Sunday.
