Whitmore becomes first three-time winner of Count Fleet

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Whitmore had his most memorable afternoon yet at Oaklawn Park on Saturday.

He held off Flagstaff by three-quarters of a length to become the first three-time winner of the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap and went over $3 million in career earnings.

“Whenever he runs, it’s a family holiday,” said Ron Moquett, who co-owns and trains Whitmore. “It’s a big deal to us.”

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Whitmore won his seventh stakes race at Oaklawn in the Grade 3, $350,000 Count Fleet. The 7-year-old first captured the Count Fleet in 2017, won it again in 2018, then last year was second to Mitole. Whitmore’s success Saturday came on the heels of winning the Hot Springs Stakes for a record fourth time March 7.

Whitmore ($8.20) was content to settle off the pace in fifth as Bobby’s Wicked One and Share the Upside dueled through an opening quarter in 21.69 seconds. Hidden Scroll joined the leaders through a half-mile in 44.67 as Whitmore advanced three wide on the turn. Whitmore overtook the leaders past the eighth pole, and went on to cover six furlongs on a fast track in 1:08.75.

“What a racehorse,” winning jockey Joe Talamo said in a post-race interview broadcast by Oaklawn. “I’ve been fortunate to ride the horse three times, and to be honest, each time he’s felt even stronger.

“He broke really sharp, put me in a great spot down the backside, and on the turn I was smiling, waiting for his momentum to kick in.”

Flagstaff broke last and had one horse beat coming to the quarter pole. He swung wide into the stretch and barreled down the middle of the track. It was another half-length back in third to Manny Wah.

Whitmore earned $210,000 for his win, which pushed his career bankroll to $3,146,350. He is a son of Pleasantly Perfect who also races for Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Partners.

Whitmore is a fan favorite and Moquett said the Count Fleet is the first race some of his longtime followers have ever missed in person. The coronavirus pandemic has called for spectator-free racing at Oaklawn since the middle of March.

“It’s the smallest crowd Whitmore has ever run in front of,” said Moquett, noting the Count Fleet in recent times has been run on the undercard of the Arkansas Derby.

Moquett said Whitmore’s following is a loyal one, and folks followed him all the way to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year, with many making their first trips to both California and Santa Anita.

“People like his workmanlike attitude and personality,” said Moquett.

Whitmore ended up running third to Mitole in last year’s Breeders’ Cup, and Moquett said a return to that race, to be run Nov. 7 at Keeneland, is a year-end goal.

But the immediate path to that race has yet to be determined, said Moquett, as the the Grade 1 Churchill Downs, a logical next start for Whitmore, has been postponed from May 2 to Sept. 5.

The Count Fleet was first run in 1974 and Whitmore entered this year’s renewal tied with both Dave’s Friend (1983-84), Bordonaro (2006-2007) and Semaphore Man (2008-2009) as the race’s only two-time winners, according to the media guide from Oaklawn.

He now stands alone in the record books at Oaklawn.

The Count Fleet preceded the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap on Saturday’s card.