W.B. Smudge has blossomed in Arkansas
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – W.B. Smudge has thrived over the course of the Oaklawn meet, and as a result the former claimer will get his first shot in a graded stakes in the $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap on Sunday.
“He put himself there,” said Matt Kordenbrock, who trains W.B. Smudge for Robert O’Hara Jr. and Gwyneth Gower. “He’s really blossomed down here. He really took a liking to this place, the racetrack, and I personally think he’s gotten better.”
W.B. Smudge will be seeking his third straight win when he goes in the Grade 3 Count Fleet, having won a pair of high-end optional claiming sprints in his last two starts at Oaklawn. Earlier in the meet, he ran third in the $100,000 King Cotton.
W.B. Smudge was a $25,000 claim back in October 2014. He was picked out by O’Hara, said Kordenbrock. The trainer has about 10 horses in training for the businessman, who is based in Ohio.
“Rob and I, when we were kids, we rubbed horses together, then he took over his father’s business and kind of got out of it as far as the backside,” said Kordenbrock. “I ran into him at Keeneland three years ago, and he said, ‘Hey, I want to talk to you. I want to get a horse.’ It took off from there.”
W.B. Smudge has been fun for all connected, and Kordenbrock’s wife, Connie, has even embroidered shirts for the gang that read ‘I’ve Been Smudged.’”
A couple of factors have come together that have helped the 7-year-old W.B. Smudge move up the class ladder later in life, said Kordenbrock. One is the devoted care of his groom, Nelson Santizo, and the other is a change in running style.
“When we first got him he was strictly speed,” said Kordenbrock. “We kind of started trying to throttle him down a little bit because he’s an intelligent horse, and we found out, ‘Hey, this horse will do whatever you ask him.’ He’s been a lot more versatile.”
Kordenbrock is hoping for a big race Sunday from W.B. Smudge, who is a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Wayzata Bay.
“One thing about the Count Fleet,” said Kordenbrock. “He’ll show up and give ‘em his effort, and whether it’s good enough or not, we’ll find out.”