Stilleto Boy, Proxy meet again in Oaklawn Handicap
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Stilleto Boy and Proxy, who were separated by a neck when first and second in the Santa Anita Handicap, get a rematch Saturday in the Grade 2, $1 million Oaklawn Handicap.
The horses are part of a field of seven for the 1 1/8-mile race, which shares a card with two other stakes. The $200,000 Bath House Row – previously known as the Oaklawn Invitational – offers its winner a berth into the Preakness Stakes provided the horse is nominated to the Triple Crown. The 12-race card includes the $150,000 Valley of the Vapors for 3-year-old fillies at a mile. It will mark the two-turn debut of stakes winner Klassy Bridgette.
Stilleto Boy has won at Oaklawn. He will break from post 3 under Kent Desormeaux.
Proxy, winner of last year’s Grade 1 Clark at Churchill Downs, will start from post 4 under Joel Rosario.
Both horses are weighted at 122 pounds.
Last Samurai is the 123-pound highweight off his wins in the Grade 3 Razorback and Essex this meet. He will start from post 2 under Cristian Torres.
The complete field from the rail with riders is: Rated R Superstar, David Cabrera; Last Samurai, Torres; Stilleto Boy, Desormeaux; Proxy, Rosario; Senor Buscador, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Classic Causeway, Francisco Arrieta; Charge It, Luis Saez.
Charge It will add blinkers off a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile.
The Bath House Row field of nine includes Victory Formation, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes earlier in the meet. Red Route One, who ran second in both the Southwest and Rebel, also is in the race.
The complete field for the 1 1/8-mile stakes from the rail with riders is: Interlock Empire, Cabrera; Mazing Mark, Jon Court; Powerful, Isaac Castillo; Red Route One, Rosario; Aristocracy, Torres; Victory Formation, Saez; Two Eagles River, Mitchell Murrill; Line to Gain, Eduardo Gallardo; and Tapit Shoes, Desormeaux.
The Oaklawn Handicap goes as the 10th race and the Bath House Row is slotted as the 11th. First post is 12:10 p.m. Central.
The forecast is for partly sunny skies and a high of 62 degree. The infield is scheduled to be open for the card, which continues the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.