Uh Oh Bango ships in for Rebel
Uh Oh Bango will be one of a number of new shooters for the Grade 3, $300,000 Rebel on March 13, which is the next local stop on the road to the Arkansas Derby. Trainer Kory Owens said the plan is for the horse to arrive here from Turf Paradise later this week.
Uh Oh Bango was freshened after his last start, the Grade 3, $750,000 Delta Jackpot on Dec. 4, in which he finished second by a neck to Rule. He battled through the stretch with Rule, who earlier this month was a big winner of the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs.
"That makes you feel real good," Owens said. "We ran against a horse who's tough. When I hooked up with him, I hooked up with a true horse. He showed that the other day."
Uh Oh Bango put up the highest Beyer for a 2-year-old colt in 2009, when he won the $53,000 Prairie Meadows Freshman last September with a 102. Owens said he also will be sending E Z Dreamer, a full brother to Uh Oh Bango, to Oaklawn this week. The horse is being pointed for the $60,000 Hot Springs Stakes here March 20.
E Z Dreamer won the $75,000 Phoenix Gold Cup at Turf Paradise on Feb. 13, with a Beyer of 100.
The Rebel is looking like it could be a bang-up race. Among those considered possible as of Tuesday were Eclipse Award winner Lookin At Lucky, the winner of the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity, and Super Saver, who last fall captured the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.
Noble's Promise, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity, is targeting the Rebel. Dublin and Cardiff Giant, who were second and third to Conveyance in last weekend's Southwest, are also pointing for the race. Cardiff Giant has remained at Oaklawn after flying here from Southern California, and is to again be ridden by Christian Santiago-Reyes, said Tony Matos, the racing manager for the horse's owner, M Racing.
Conveyance will pass on the Rebel, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert.
Trading cards out in March
The 50,000 trading cards of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta being printed this week to promote their expected match-up in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Invitational here April 9 will be distributed free at two different locales the first week in March. One will be at the visitor center in downtown Hot Springs on March 2. Oaklawn will then distribute cards at the track on March 6.
- additional reporting by Jay Privman