Wicked Halo edges past Matareya in Matron
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Wicked Halo became a millionaire Friday when she won her first start since the Breeders’ Cup in the inaugural $250,000 Matron at Oaklawn Park.
Wicked Halo dug in to get past Matareya nearing the wire for a three-quarter-length victory over that one. It was another 6 3/4 lengths back in third to I’m the Boss of Me.
The Matron, a six-furlong race for fillies and mares, marked the start of the annual Racing Festival of the South. The Oaklawn series features 13 open-company stakes worth a combined $6 million through April 29. The Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby is Saturday.
Wicked Halo ($4) settled in third off dueling leaders Pretty Birdie and I’m the Boss of Me, who zipped through an opening quarter in 21.15 seconds and a half-mile in 44.25 over a muddy, sealed track. Matareya moved to the fore through an opening along the rail into the stretch, while Wicked Halo advanced four wide and pushed her way past the leader. She covered the distance in 1:09.31.
Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Wicked Halo for trainer Steve Asmussen.
“We’re just very fortunate to have her,” Asmussen said.
Asmussen said the Matron effort sets Wicked Halo up for a start in the Grade 1, $750,000 Derby City Distaff at seven furlongs May 6 at Churchill Downs.
Wicked Halo met older horses for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 5. She finished a solid third and was freshened for a 4-year-old campaign, Asmussen said.
The multiple Grade 2 winner is a daughter of Gun Runner who races for her breeder, Winchell Thoroughbreds. Wicked Halo earned $162,500 on Friday to push her career earnings to $1,032,700. She is now 7 for 12.
Matareya, a millionaire, was making her first start since August in the Matron.
The field for the Matron was scratched down from seven horses to four with the defections of Dealing Justice, Teddy’s Barino, and Samurai Charm.
The race was run Lasix-free after new medication rules from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority were federally approved for launch Monday. The entries for the Matron had been taken prior to the launch – when Lasix was allowed in certain stakes at Oaklawn – but horsemen were told by Oaklawn officials they would be unable to race on the diuretic if the rules were approved, according to HISA.
Earlier on Friday’s card there was a weather delay due to a tornado warning for Garland County, the location of Oaklawn. The track canceled its third race, pushed back post for its fourth, and ultimately ran the Matron about 45 minutes later than originally scheduled. The track started out as fast Friday, was downgraded to sloppy when racing resumed for the fourth race, then was upgraded to muddy.
A tornado struck in central Arkansas on Friday afternoon, about an hour’s drive from Oaklawn in Little Rock. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency.
Racing is set to resume Saturday at Oaklawn.
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