Nashville Makes Long Awaited Return at Oaklawn Dec. 10

Whitmore  won the biggest sprint race Nov. 7, 2020, at Keeneland, but Nashville  won the fastest.

Now, more than 13 months after setting a six-furlong track record on last year's Breeders' Cup undercard, lightly raced Nashville is scheduled to launch his comeback in an allowance optional claiming race Dec. 10 at Oaklawn Park for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and co-owners WinStar Racing and China Horse Club.

"It's just kind of a starting point," WinStar president/CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden said Dec. 8. "We want to get a race in him and see where we are. It looks like a good spot. There's some competitive horses in there and it will give us a good barometer."

Nashville is among seven horses entered in the 5 1/2-furlong eighth race, which has a $102,000 purse. Probable post time is 3:46 p.m. CT. Nashville, to be ridden for the first time by Florent Geroux, drew the rail and is the 7-5 program favorite, matched against opposition led by 2021 stakes winners Firecrow  (7-2) and Hollis  (4-1).

Nashville, a 4-year-old son of Speightstown  , hasn't started since suffering his first career loss in the $300,000 Runhappy Malibu Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds Dec. 26, 2020, at Santa Anita Park, finishing fourth behind multiple grade 1 winner Charlatan  . 

"It's been a long road," Walden said. "Sometimes, horses make you wait."

Walden said Nashville had a small ankle chip removed following the Malibu. After resuming training last May, Walden said the colt came up "a little off behind" and he was sent home.

"Nothing major, but had a couple of starts and stops this year," Walden said, adding Nashville returned to Asmussen Sept. 10 and "hasn't missed a beat since then."

Nashville has a long string of workouts at Churchill Downs and a half-mile maintenance breeze Dec. 6 at Oaklawn in advance of his comeback. He dazzled in his first three career starts, winning by a combined 24 3/4 front-running lengths. 

"You're always concerned about a layoff, but Steve knows how to handle these horses," Walden said. "He said he's ready. Just looking forward to getting him back."

Nashville posted Equibase Speed Figures of 106 for an 11 1/2-length debut victory in September 2020 at Saratoga Race Course, 117 for a 9 3/4-length first-level allowance victory in October 2020 at Keeneland, and another 117 for a 3 1/2-length victory in the $125,000 Perryville Stakes for 3-year-olds in the aforementioned 2020 Breeders' Cup undercard race there.

Nashville won the Perryville in a track-record 1:07.89 after setting fractions of :21.54 for the opening quarter and :43.87 for a half-mile. Roughly four hours after the Perryville, the first race on the card, seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner Whitmore  captured the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) to secure an Eclipse Award as the country's champion male sprinter with six furlongs in 1:08.61.

"We debated whether to go into the Breeders' Cup off of two starts," Walden said. "Just felt like it was not a fair thing to do, to run a 3-year-old against top sprinters and older horses that had more experience and everything, so we opted for the path of least resistance. But after he ran, and ran so fast, I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you there was a hint of: 'I wish we had run in the Breeders' Cup Sprint that day.'"

Nashville is 3-for-4 with earnings of $175,200. He was purchased for $460,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Lane's End consignment.