Suddenbreakingnews among Rebel Stakes contenders breezing Monday

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Rebel Stakes week started with a bang Monday at Oaklawn Park, where Suddenbreakingnews led a group of eight contenders working for the Grade 2, $900,000 race here Saturday. He also was joined on the work tab by the champions Untapable and Idolo Porteno, who tuned up for starts on the same card in the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri and the Grade 3, $350,000 Razorback.

Suddenbreakingnews will start as one of the top choices in the Rebel on the strength of his win in last month’s Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. He was the co-fifth choice in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, closing at 14-1 on Sunday.

Suddenbreakingnews came onto the muddy, sealed track soon after training began Monday and worked five furlongs in 1:02. He breezed under regular rider Luis Quinonez, and the move pleased trainer Donnie Von Hemel.

“We just needed to get a good work and stretch his legs a little bit,” Von Hemel said. “I thought he was nice and relaxed for the first three-eighths to half-a-mile and stretched out real nice down the lane and worked right through the wire.”

Oaklawn head clocker Jim Hamilton had Suddenbreakingnews going in fractions of 12.60 seconds for his opening eighth of a mile, 25.40 for a quarter-mile, 38.40 for three-eighths, and galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.60. Hamilton had the horse’s final quarter in 23.60.

The Rebel, at 1 1/16 miles, is expected to draw the maximum gate of 14, including the shippers Ralis, Cupid, Cherry Wine, and Spikes Shirl.

“Everything looks good,” Von Hemel said. “We’ll enter on Wednesday and see what 14 horses are in the race.”

Other workers for the Rebel on Monday included American Dubai, the third-place finisher in the Southwest. He went after the break on an unsealed track rated “good.” American Dubai went five-eighths in 1:02.60 under Chris Landeros, who will have the mount Saturday, said trainer Rodney Richards.

“He worked nice,” Richards said. “The track was a little heavy. We just wanted a nice, long, easy work.”

Cutacorner had the bullet for the distance Monday, going five furlongs in company in 1:01 after the break for trainer Jack Van Berg.

The other potential Rebel starters on the tab went a half-mile, led by Discreetness, the winner of the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes in January at Oaklawn. He breezed right after the break in 49.80 seconds for trainer Jinks Fires.

Gray Sky and Z Royal were out soon after the track opened Monday, each working separate half-miles for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, with Gray Sky going in 49.80 and Z Royal in 48.40. Hamilton had Z Royal’s final quarter in 23 seconds and had him galloping out five-eighths in 1:02. Creator breezed before the break, too, going in 49.20.

Tisdale came out after the break, working a half-mile in company in 48.20. He will join the cast for the Rebel, trainer Ron Moquett said on Monday. Moquett said Whitmore, the Southwest Stakes runner-up, emerged from his work Sunday in good order and remains on deck for the Rebel.

Another new face for the Rebel is the Fair Grounds-based Spikes Shirl. He was second to Jensen last out in an optional $50,000 claiming race Feb. 25. Trainer Dallas Stewart said the horse is scheduled to ship Thursday to Oaklawn and will be ridden by Jesus Castanon. Stewart said there were a couple of reasons to target the Rebel.

“There’s $900,000,” he quipped, referring to the purse, “and we’re trying to see where he fits in also. He’s had two good starts here at the Fair Grounds.”

One of the first major workers of the morning was Untapable, who breezed a half-mile in 49.40. The other champion stabled on the grounds, Idolo Porteno, was out first after the break, going a half-mile in 48.20. The 2014 Horse of the Year in Argentina, Idolo Porteno will be making his North American debut in the Razorback.

“He worked very good, finished very strong, and galloped out very good,” trainer Ignacio Correas said. “He’s where he needs to be. I’m pretty happy where he’s at. I think what we need now is to race.”

Hamilton had Idolo Porteno galloping out five-eighths in 1:01.

Weights for the Razorback were released Sunday, and Idolo Porteno is one of several at 117 pounds. Upstart is expected to be the starting highweight at 120. Carve, weighted at 117, worked a half-mile in 49 seconds Monday and is being pointed for the race, according to trainer Steve Asmussen. Far Right, also at 117, is a go, Moquett said Monday.

◗ Oaklawn’s leading rider, Ricardo Santana Jr., won five races here Saturday, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Honeybee Stakes aboard Terra Promessa. He will be in action in the feature Thursday, when he rides Adhara in the eighth race. It’s an optional $75,000 claiming sprint for 3-year-old fillies. Others set to start include One True Kiss, the third-place finisher in last year’s Grade 2 Sorrento at Del Mar.