Old Fashioned to Arrive Monday
There will be no shortage of talent for the Grade III Southwest this year, and one horse that race fans have on their list is Old Fashioned. The highly regarded son of Unbridled Song has three starts and three wins, and looks to be primed for a big three-year-old season.
Old Fashioned, one of the leading Triple Crown prospects, will be calling Oaklawn home as of Monday. Trainer Larry Jones (pictured) confirmed early this morning that plans will be to arrive at Oaklawn sometime on Monday. Jones plans on working Old Fashioned two times before his start at Oaklawn.
“We are coming with Old Fashioned to Oaklawn,” mentioned Jones. “I’m bringing him in myself and it looks like we will be going to the Southwest. He has been training well, and he has put on some muscle and has been training strong.”
There had been some questions as to whether or not Old Fashioned would be coming to Oaklawn, but all has been resolved with Oaklawn according to Jones. “We talked it out, and have good faith in Oaklawn. I am glad we were able to resolve things,” commented Jones.
The Southwest will be the feature race on the President’s Day card and will have the national racing audience tuned in. Flat Out, who won the Smarty Jones Stakes opening weekend at Oaklawn, will be working in the next couple of days according to trainer Scooter Dickey. “We will let him tell us how things are going, but everything is going well now,” smiled Dickey. “After the Southwest, we’d like to follow the series until our horse tells me different.”
The one mile Southwest is part of Oaklawn’s widely recognized series for 3-year-olds, setting the stage for this track’s 73rd running of the $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby here closing day, April 11. The Southwest is shaping up to be a racing fan’s dream.
Floyd Wethey Back in Winner’s Circle
Things are picking up for young jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr. In 2008 Wethey made his first trip to Oaklawn as an apprentice jockey. He sustained a fractured right wrist riding in the Rainbow Stakes at the end of the meet last year. Now, Wethey returns to the jockey colony as a journeyman and has already hit the ground running.
Sitting in the standings with four winners so far, Wethey could be the breakout jockey of the meet. He made an appearance in the winner’s circle for the fifth race on Heart Ack Road and then again in the seventh for Abby the Great.
“I have four winners here this meet. I am off to a good start and that is always a good feeling. I thought I would have a good meeting,” mentioned Wethey in between races. “I get on a lot of horses in the mornings and some of them are really training well.”
“At the end of the meet last year I broke my right wrist. It was a clean break, so it didn’t require any screws. I didn’t ride until June 1,” commented Wethey. “I got back to riding at Tulsa, and things have been going well. I had a great 2008, even with the broken wrist. I won 83 races, and I hope this year is even better.”
Jockey agent Mike Wood handles the riding engagements for the young rider, and if things keep going as well as they have maybe we will see Wethey atop the standings at Oaklawn.
A Little Bit More
The work-tab at Oaklawn remains a busy one. This morning Donnie K. Von Hemel sent out 2008 Instant Racing Stakes heroine Euphony (pictured) to a bullet 48.4 half mile breeze. The filly is considered possible for the Pippin Stakes here on February 14th according to Von Hemel. Poltergeist, also from the Von Hemel stable, bullet worked five panels this morning in1:00.4. No plans have been made for the son of Tapit, but the Southwest is one of the options Von Hemel is considering.
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