Trainers mull options for speedy trio

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures that Carve, Code West, and Ivan Fallunovalot earned in their most recent starts might lead their connections to pass on the next round of races for their divisions at Oaklawn Park.

Carve and Code West earned respective Beyers of 106 and 100 for running one-two in the $100,000 Fifth Season at Oaklawn on Jan. 16. Carve rolled to a 3 1/2-length win, covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.40. It was his first start since finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

The upcoming stakes for them at Oaklawn are the $100,000 Essex Handicap on Feb. 14 and the Grade 3, $250,000 Razorback Handicap on March 14. The races are stepping-stones to the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 11.

“The 106 Beyer, it was a lifetime-best Beyer,” said Brad Cox, who trains Carve for Mike Langford. “The Essex or Razorback, one of those will be his next start, and if all’s well, the Oaklawn [Handicap].

“We won’t go Essex, Razorback, and Oaklawn. We’ll probably go in either the Essex or the Razorback before the Oaklawn, and right now, we’re probably thinking more Razorback than Essex off that big race. This horse, I think he seems to run his better races with time between starts.”

Carve ran third in last year’s Oaklawn Handicap.

Code West’s next start also will likely come in the Essex or Razorback, trainer Boyd Caster said Friday. Code West, winner of the $175,000 Governor’s Cup at 1 1/8 miles at Remington Park last August, rallied from off the pace in the Fifth Season.

“He just needs a smidgen further than the mile and a sixteenth,” said Caster.

Code West came out of the race well, said Caster.

“It’s up in the air whether we go in the Essex, or bypass the Essex and go in the Razorback,” he said. “It’s kind of up in the air at the moment. We’ll try to make a decision in a week, 10 days. We’ll let the horse say.”

Zee Bros set the pace and finished third in the Fifth Season, earning a Beyer of 95. He was making his first start around two turns off a win in the $350,000 De Francis Dash at Laurel in November.

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Zee Bros would likely be kept racing in the seven-eighths to a mile range, with an option for him the $250,000 General George Handicap at seven furlongs at Laurel on Feb. 16.

Ivan Fallunovalot earns 108 Beyer

As for Ivan Fallunovalot, he popped a Beyer of 108 on Thursday, when he won an optional $50,000 claiming race at Oaklawn. He sped through six furlongs in 1:09.74, leading throughout for an 8 1/4-length win under jockey Calvin Borel.

“Everything went so smooth,” said Tom Howard, who trains the horse for Lewis Matthews Jr.

Ivan Fallunovalot was making his first start since September.

“He’ll be nominated to the King Cotton, but it’s probably too close for him,” Howard said.

The $100,000 King Cotton, for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs, is Feb. 7. Howard said Ivan Fallunovalot would be considered for the next sprint stakes, the $100,000 Hot Springs on March 7. A long-term hope would be to make the meet’s most prestigious race for sprinters, the Grade 3, $300,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on April 10.

“That’s in the back of our minds,” said Howard.

Ivan Fallunovalot won four straight races last year, including the $100,000 David M. Vance Sprint at Remington.