Take Charge Brandi among four Grade 1 winners calling Oaklawn home

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park will open its meet Friday with more Grade 1 winners stabled on the grounds than has been the norm so early in the season. There are at least four such runners calling Hot Springs home for the winter: The Big Beast, Don’t Tell Sophia, Moonshine Mullin, and Take Charge Brandi.

On Wednesday, Take Charge Brandi was named a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old filly of 2014. She is the front-runner for the honor following a season in which she captured a pair of Grade 1 races – the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Starlet in her most recent outing Dec. 13.

Since her last start, Take Charge Brandi has had something of a busman’s holiday, according to D. Wayne Lukas, who trains the filly for Arkansas resident Willis Horton.

“We just put her in a holding pattern,” Lukas said. “She’s training light a couple days, then serious, then we back up, just holding her condition and muscle tone. She’s full of herself. Probably next week, we’ll give her a nice little work. We’ll start back.”

Lukas said Take Charge Brandi’s spring objective is the Kentucky Oaks, and her path there will run through Oaklawn. He said the $100,000 Martha Washington at a mile Jan. 31 is “penciled in” for Take Charge Brandi. She also is a candidate for the Grade 3, $150,000 Honeybee on March 7, Lukas said, and the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy on April 4.

The Big Beast, owned by Arkansas residents Alex and JoAnn Lieblong and trained by Tony Dutrow, became a Grade 1 winner when he captured the King’s Bishop at Saratoga in his most recent start Aug. 23. The imposing horse was away from the races to have a bone chip removed from an ankle, has since resumed training, and recently arrived at Oaklawn.

“The Big Beast, he’s there, and bless his heart, he’s gotten bigger,” Alex Lieblong said. “He’s doing fine. We hadn’t breezed him yet. He’s not going to run the first part of the meet. We’ll probably run about the middle of the meet. I couldn’t ask for him to be doing any better.”

Lieblong said that if The Big Beast is ready for the task late in the meet, he would love to see him make the Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn on April 9.

Moonshine Mullin, like The Big Beast, became a Grade 1 winner in his last start, capturing the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 14. It was the fifth straight win for the Randy Patterson-owned horse, a streak that includes the Grade 2 Alysheba at Churchill and a trio of races at Oaklawn.

“I’d like to have him ready for the Razorback. That’s kind of our goal,” said trainer Randy Morse. “He had a little issue. We gave him some time, and he’s been back in training 60 days. He’s doing really good. I don’t see anything at this point keeping him from being as good, if not better [than] he was last year.”

The Grade 3, $250,000 Razorback Handicap will be run March 14 at Oaklawn. Morse said the meet objective is the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 11.

Don’t Tell Sophia, who races for Jerry Namy and her trainer, Phil Sims, became a Grade 1 winner in the Spinster at Keeneland on Oct. 5. She went on to finish a big second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Don’t Tell Sophia is a candidate for the $100,000 Pippin at Oaklawn on Jan. 17, according to Sims. The race is a stepping-stone to the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom here April 10.

Bonuses for winning without Lasix

Horses who win races without competing on Lasix at this meet will receive a purse bonus, track president Charles Cella announced in September. The volunteer program awards horses a 10 percent supplement to the winner’s share of the purse, with bonuses to range from $1,080 to as high as $60,000 for the richest race of the meet, the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby.

Bonuses will be paid out by Oaklawn, not through purse accounts, said Cella.

“We know some horses do indeed need Lasix in order to run to potential, and I want to make this very clear: We are not advocating that horses who need Lasix run without it,” Cella said. “However, it is also our belief that many of the horses running on Lasix may not need it. We think it is in the best interest of the sport and the breed to find a way to have more horses run without Lasix. Our hope is this program will be a step in the right direction.”

On another Lasix-related note, the Arkansas Racing Commission’s veterinarians now will administer the diuretic on race days. The new policy starts Friday. In the past, private racetrack practitioners had administered race-day Lasix.

New rules for trifectas, superfectas

The minimum number of starters required for trifectas and superfectas has been reduced at this meet, according to Bobby Geiger, director of gaming and wagering for Oaklawn. In a commission rule change, trifecta races must have at least five betting interests carded and a minimum of four starters, while superfecta races must have at least six betting interests carded and a minimum of five starters.

** There is no charge for general admission at this meet after Cella waived the traditional $2 fee.

** Wagering on Oaklawn will be available online through DRF Bets at DRF.com/bets.