Oaklawn Stakes Gains Importance as Field of 13 Lines Up

While the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) is postponed until Sept. 5 this year because of COVID-19, the struggle to secure a starting position for a prestigious stakes race on the first Saturday in May remains.

This year, the May 2 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park is that coveted opportunity. As one of the few remaining major graded races left on the spring calendar amid a series of cancellations, the race could attract an overflow field, leaving some runners excluded.

This makes the April 11 Oaklawn Stakes all the more important. Beyond its $200,000 purse, the race offers automatic berths into the Arkansas Derby to its top three finishers, leading to an abundance of 3-year-olds converging for Saturday's race. A field of 13 has been entered for the 1 1/8-mile contest, including Thousand Words from California and Farmington Road from his South Florida training base, plus an assortment of Arkansas-based runners, including Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Basin.

Oaklawn Park is one of a handful of Thoroughbred tracks still in operation during the ongoing pandemic, racing before spectatorless crowds.

Basin, one of three entrants from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, is likely assured of a spot in the Arkansas Derby. He's earned $361,000, and the Arkansas Derby utilizes a preference system based on earnings. That makes Saturday's race more of a building block for the colt, who has started just once since last summer.

That one start came in the March 14 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn, his first race since winning the Sept. 2 Hopeful for owner Terry Green's Jackpot Farm. Racing two turns for the first time, Basin turned in an even performance to be third in a show photo, beaten 7 3/4 lengths by victorious Nadal.

Video: Rebel S. (G2)

"We were wondering how he would come back. We were all real happy with him," Green said. "All those other horses had been running pretty steady, so to come back and run third to them, we felt was pretty darn good."

Green said Basin was sidelined in the fall and winter because of a right rear ankle injury. Asmussen has relayed to the owner that the colt is doing well.

Though Green likes the tradition of the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, he thinks the postponement of the race could prove to Basin's benefit.

"He's a May foal," he said. "He's grown quite a bit compared to where he was, and he's still growing."

Florent Geroux has landed the ride on the 3-year-old son of Liam's Map , replacing Javier Castellano, who is not currently riding after completing a 14-day quarantine due to testing positive last month for COVID-19. Geroux teamed with Asmussen as the regular jockey of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner .

Asmussen's other Oaklawn Stakes starters are Shoplifted, the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes winner, and Gold Street, the winner of the Sugar Bowl Stakes and Smarty Jones Stakes.

Basin is not the only entrant receiving a rider change. Thousand Words will be handled by Joe Talamo. The son of Pioneerof the Nile was ridden by Flavien Prat in all four of his starts on the West Coast.

After a debut maiden victory, Thousand Words won the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) and the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) for owners Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm and then was a lackluster fourth in the March 7 San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park. Spotted in a tracking position in third along the inside in the San Felipe, he began to lose ground on the second turn and weakened to finish 11 1/4 lengths behind victorious stablemate Authentic.

Bob Baffert, Thousand Words' Hall of Fame trainer, felt he may have been too close to the pace, though Prat said after the race he thought the colt was well positioned.

"I was in a good spot. He just didn't fire," Prat said.

The Asmussen-trained Laughing Fox won the inaugural running of the Oaklawn Stakes in 2019 when it was run as an invitational and contested on Kentucky Derby Day as a prep for the Preakness Stakes (G1), where Laughing Fox ran fifth. This year, the Oaklawn Stakes and Arkansas Derby swapped positions on the racing calendar.

Other contenders in the Oaklawn Stakes include Sir Rick, who won the Mine That Bird Derby at Sunland Park; Taishan, a fast allowance-level winner March 14 in the slop at Oaklawn; and Farmington Road and Digital, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the faster of two editions of the Feb. 15 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Farmington Road will race with blinkers for the first time.

Post time is 5:48 CT on a card that includes a stellar renewal of the Oaklawn Mile Stakes, a 14-horse race led by grade 1 winners Tom's d'Etat and Improbable.

Entries: Oaklawn S.

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, April 11, 2020, Race 11

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo
• 5:48 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Basin (KY)	Florent Geroux	124	Steven M. Asmussen	7/2
2	2Coach Bahe (KY)	Santo Sanjur	118	Philip A. Bauer	20/1
3	3Mr. Big News (KY)	Gabriel Saez	118	W. Bret Calhoun	30/1
4	4Thousand Words (FL)	Joseph Talamo	124	Bob Baffert	5/2
5	5Sir Rick (KY)	David Cohen	124	Robertino Diodoro	15/1
6	6Shoplifted (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	124	Steven M. Asmussen	10/1
7	7Flap Jack (KY)	Adam Beschizza	124	Jack Sisterson	20/1
8	8Taishan (KY)	Joel Rosario	121	Richard Baltas	8/1
9	9Digital (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	118	W. Bret Calhoun	8/1
10	10Something Natural (KY)	Fernando De La Cruz	121	Brad H. Cox	20/1
11	11Background (FL)	Joseph Rocco, Jr.	118	Michael Puhich	12/1
12	12Farmington Road (KY)	Martin Garcia	118	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
13	13Gold Street (KY)	Tyler Baze	124	Steven M. Asmussen	20/1