BIG ON BROADWAY FAVORED IN RAINBOW MISS

HOT SPRINGS, AR (Thursday, April 15, 2021) – Big On Broadway has been installed the 3-1 program favorite for the $150,000 Rainbow Miss Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies at six furlongs Friday at Oaklawn.

Probable post time for the Rainbow Miss, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 5:10 p.m. (Central). First post Friday is 1 p.m.

The projected 11-horse Rainbow Miss field from the rail out: Smarty’s Angel, Alex Canchari to ride, 119 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line; Tyler’s Tyronza, Joe Talamo, 122, 10-1; Heated Argument, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 6-1; Hillary G, David Cabrera, 122, 7-2; Lady Astrid, Kelsi Harr, 15-1, 117; Little Burrito, Cristian Torres, 115, 15-1; Dolly Dimple, Fernando De La Cruz, 122, 9-2; Big On Broadway, Ricardo Santana Jr., 122, 3-1; Hot Springs Bling, Jermaine Bridgmohan, 115, 20-1; Triple Happy, Martin Garcia, 115, 20-1; and Kaboom Baby, Luis Quinonez, 122, 4-1.

Big On Broadway races for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs and owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, Ark., who teamed to win the 2019 Rainbow Miss with Bye Bye J. The Lieblongs also bred Big On Broadway, a daughter of their Grade 1 winner, The Big Beast, who stands at Ocala Stud in Florida. Big On Broadway exits a 2 ¾-length maiden victory against state-breds April 2 at Oaklawn and retains Santana, who is headed toward his eighth local riding title.

“She’s doing well,” Moquett said. “Looking forward to the race. The owner owns the stallion in Florida and is happy to see this one being an Arkansas-bred.”

Trainer Tommy Vance of Hot Springs seeks his first career stakes victory with Hillary G, who broke her maiden against state-breds March 21 at Oaklawn in her last start. Hillary G is co-owned by Texas-based trainer Austin Gustafson, who sent the filly to Vance to run in last month’s maiden race and the Rainbow Miss.

“I can’t take much credit because Austin trains her most of the time,” said Vance, the son of four-time Oaklawn training champion David Vance. “I train her for like four or five days before she comes in. Same came here four days out before the last race and we did the schooling and all that stuff. She’s a little bit of a high-strung filly, but not too bad. All we did was pretty much try to get her a little more calm and she ran like a wild horse.”

Breeder/owner John Ed Anthony ran 1-2 in last year’s Rainbow Miss with Sekani and The Mary Rose, respectively. Anthony returns this year with Sekani’s half-sister, Dolly Dimple, who ran second behind Hillary G before breaking her maiden against state-breds April 2 at Oaklawn.

“We’re running her back on short rest again, but she’s an Arkansas-bred and we have to take advantage of this opportunity that they’re given here at Oaklawn,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She was one that kind of got off to a bad start, I guess, at the beginning of the meet with getting excluded out of the first one (maiden race). She finally was in a race. She was sick and we had to scratch the morning of the race. The first half of the meet was like as bad as it could be for an Arkansas-bred. We’re hopeful that the end of the meet will be about as good as an Arkansas-bred could have, having run second and win and now, hopefully, a real shot at a nice purse in a stakes race.”

Ministry won the 2017 Rainbow Miss for Linda Robbins of Hot Springs. The breeder/owner will be represented Friday by Ministry’s half-sister, Heated Argument, who won her Feb. 6 career debut at Oaklawn against state-breds at odds of 37-1 before finishing a troubled fifth in a March 26 state-bred allowance at Oaklawn against older horses after chasing a fast pace. She adds Lasix Friday.

“I’m not disappointed in her last race,” Robbins said. “I hated to run her against older horses. Then, she didn’t have the best of anything.”

Kaboom Baby ran second in her career debut to Heated Argument and beat Big On Broadway to break her maiden March 13 Oaklawn for trainer Ernie Witt II.