It’s A Bird Goes into the Oaklawn Handicap
Roll out the red carpet at Oaklawn Park; it’s that time of year when a who’s who of horse racing will be in town to show off their best in the barn. To kick things off once again this year will be the $500,000 Apple Blossom and the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap, each race giving one horse a chance to be named with some of the greats of horse racing.
The Grade II Oaklawn Handicap will feature a probable field of eight. One horse that will garner some play will be It’s A Bird from the barn of Marty Wolfson. The six-year-old horse by Birdonthewire comes off a third place finish at Fair Grounds in the New Orleans Handicap. With a win in the Oaklawn Handicap, It’s A Bird will surpass the million dollar mark in earnings.
“He has been doing well since his last race, he put in a nice workout the other day in preparation for the Handicap,” commented Wolfson. “The track at Fair Grounds was really sticky and he shipped in for that race. It seemed as if the track benefited the horses that had been training there. He still ran a good race.”
Julien Leparoux will ride It’s A Bird for the Oaklawn Handicap and has ridden the horse in his last two races. “He came to Florida for the first time this winter to ride at Gulfstream, and I knew he had talent so I put him on some of my horses,” said the Florida based trainer. “He is the perfect rider. He can do it all. In the Sunshine Million’s he did exactly what I asked him to do. In a twelve horse field he listened to my directions and I was pleased with that. He is a talented rider.”
“I have run in the Oaklawn Handicap before, the track seems to favor horses that are on the lead or near the lead,” mentioned Wolfson. “I don’t know yet if I will be at Oaklawn on Saturday. I’m trying to work out a flight schedule, but if not I will have Tim Ritchey saddle for me. He has horses for the same owner as It’s A Bird.”
The post position draw for both the Oaklawn Handicap and Apple Blossom will be at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday. Fans can watch the draw on the first floor across from the main elevator. Trainer Wolfson will look for his first stakes win at Oaklawn and his first during the prestigious Racing Festival of the South.
Compton Takes Five on Sunday Card
If there was anybody on Sunday that deserved a high five in the jock’s room it was jockey Perry Compton (pictured). The veteran jockey took five wins on Sunday’s card including the featured Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes on favorite Ain’t He a Pistol.
Compton started off the day by winning the first race on Smoky Belle, the fourth on Teresa’s Sparkle, the eighth on Everyday Heroes, the ninth on Ain’t He a Pistol, and the night cap on Tappin ‘n Preachin. Not bad for a day’s work, and not bad for Compton, who won his first race back on August 2, 1969.
“The five wins were a good day. I shouldn’t be getting a lot of the credit. A lot of people had input,” commented the elder jockey. “Anytime you see a cluster of wins, several people had a part in it. I have won five on a program several times. A nice thing about those five wins on Sunday was I later received phone calls from a lot of people, some I had not heard from in a while.”
Compton has ridden seven winners on a race card once before. That happened on February 19, 2000 at Fonner Park in Nebraska. “Odd thing about that, a few days before jockey Ken Shino rode six winners there. Then I had the seven wins, and then a few days later, Shino won eight races,” laughed Compton.
“There used to be a stigma against tall jockeys. We’ve had three riding at Oaklawn this meet that are as tall as myself,” said Compton who stands 5’8”. “When I started out, I thought my career would be short. There have been a lot of advances in nutrition and medical science since I started out.”
“I’m feeling well now and I am doing well. I consider myself lucky. I have a grandson who I’ll tell about the multi-win days. I hope to have more grandchildren. Of course, I also hope to have more multi-win days,” mentioned Compton. “From Oaklawn, I will go to Iowa and then I will finish the year at either Hawthorne in Chicago or Remington Park in Oklahoma.”
A veteran in the sport, Compton continues to show he still can fight tooth and nail for the win against the up and comers in the sport of kings.
A Little Bit More
Trainer Larry Jones confirmed this morning that top older filly Proud Spell will sit out the $500,000 Apple Blossom on Saturday due to some swelling in her left hind ankle. “She made it to our stable at Keeneland and our vets will take a look at it, and make sure she is ok. We are a little disappointed she isn’t staring in the Apple Blossom, but we want to make sure she is 100%. We think it is a little infection in there.”
Fantasy favorite Rachel Alexandra (pictured) put in her final drill before her start on Sunday in the $250,000 event. The filly bullet worked a half mile in 47.60 over a fast track. Rachel Alexandra will be looking for her fourth consecutive stakes win of her career in the mile and one-sixteenth race.
Speaking of tune up’s, veteran trainer Bob Holthus’s barn star Pure Clan put in her first workout since running a disappointing tenth in the Breeders’ Cup filly and mare turf. The four-year-old Pure Prize filly worked an easy three-eighths in 37.60.
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