Z Rockstar seeks repeat in TRAO Classic Sprint

Z Rockstar will be cutting back to one turn Tuesday to defend his title in the $55,000 TRAO Classic Sprint at Will Rogers Downs, and when last seen at the race’s six-furlong distance, he defeated a field that included multiple stakes winners Unbridled’s Note and Gentlemen’s Bet.

The TRAO Classic, which is for Oklahoma-bred colts and geldings ages 3 and up, drew a field of nine. Others set to start include Johnny Whip, who won the race in 2013 and finished second by a neck in 2014, and Fesstune, a stakes winner at Will Rogers.

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KEY CONTENDERS

Z Rockstar (Last 3 Beyers: 83-91-74)

◗ He is 2 for 2 at Will Rogers, where last year in addition to taking the TRAO Classic he accounted for the $55,000 Cherokee Nation Cup Classic.

◗ Z Rockstar enters Tuesday’s race off a fifth-place finish in an optional $50,000 claimer at 1 1/16 miles on March 12 at Oaklawn. He pressed the pace in the slop, and since that start, the race’s runner-up, Joy Boy, has returned to take the $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes.

◗ Z Rockstar’s last start at one turn came Feb. 14 at Oaklawn. He was always prominent for a head win over Unbridled’s Note, a Grade 3 winner who ran second in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Z Rockstar also defeated Gentlemen’s Bet, the third-place finisher in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Sprint who following his matchup with Z Rockstar won the $100,000 Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn.

◗ Luis Quinonez is in from Churchill Downs to ride Z Rockstar, the Robert Zoellner homebred trained by Donnie Von Hemel.

◗ Z Rockstar, who will break from post 4, could get a tracking trip on the turnback in distance, perhaps sitting off the rail-drawn Johnny Whip as well as Merkava and Only Liquor.

Johnny Whip (Last 3 Beyers: 62-89-84)

◗ He is returning to the Oklahoma-bred ranks after finishing fourth against open company in the $51,450 Route 66 Stakes at Will Rogers in his last start April 13. The start was his second of the year, and he could be sitting on a peak race Tuesday.

◗ Johnny Whip will be seeking his 12th victory. He boasts a 5-for-11 record on the main track at Will Rogers.

◗ Curtis Kimes has the mount for Jody Pruitt, who trains the horse for George Straw.

◗ Johnny Whip, like Z Rockstar, was bred by Zoellner.