Hollis Sets Oaklawn Track Record in Upset of Nashville

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Hollis Sets Oaklawn Track Record in Upset of Nashville
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Photo: Coady Photography
Hollis romps under Ricardo Santana Jr. in an allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn Park

Heavily favored Nashville  ran quickly in his Dec. 10 return at Oaklawn Park after more than 11 months of inactivity, but not fast enough, losing by 4 1/2 lengths to Hollis , who blazed 5 1/2 furlongs in a track-record 1:02.17.

Friday's $102,000 allowance optional claiming contest seemed to proceed well initially for Nashville, who, in his first start since a fourth-place finish in last December's Runhappy Malibu Stakes (G1), bounded to a clear lead from his inside post under Florent Geroux with a quarter-mile in :21.81.

Then Hollis pulled alongside Nashville after a half-mile in :44.99, and drew away with each stride down the stretch under Ricardo Santana Jr. The John Ortiz trainee paid $11.20 to win as the second favorite behind Nashville, who started at 1-5 odds.

The winner received an Equibase Speed Figure of 107.

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"Hollis is a very special horse in our barn," Ortiz said Friday night. "He's got a personality like no other. We call him, 'The Scrapper.' We call him, 'The Boxer.' He wants to be in a fight. He'll take the fight to his competition. That's what my instructions were to Ricardo. When he's comfortable and you see Nashville take a breather, that's when you go up and join him. I know Ricardo was pumped. He said to me, 'Don't worry Johnny, we still had a lot left in the tank.' Good news.

"It was pretty much what I thought would happen—seeing Nashville up in the front and us stalking him from the outside," Ortiz said. "Just where we were, the fractions were perfect for Hollis. Sitting just off that pace was the best thing.

"To be honest with you, when you run Hollis, you're always in for an exciting race. You see in his record, he's dead-heated, he's won by a nose, he's lost by a nose and he's missing a nostril. It's always fun to win these races because he's really never disappointed us. We knew we were sending a horse that was 300% ready."

The victory for owners WSS Racing (William Simon) and 4 G Racing (Brent and Sharilyn Gasaway) improved the 6-year-old Street Sense   gelding's record to 9-for-22 and earnings to $420,333.  On behalf of the Arkansas owners, Ortiz claimed Hollis for $40,000 May 25, 2020, at Churchill Downs. 

Bred in Kentucky by Mueller Thoroughbred Stable, Hollis is one of two black-type horses produced by his dam, the stakes-placed Pulpit  mare Miss Inclined . She has five winners from seven foals.

Nashville is now 3-1-0 in five starts following Friday's defeat. He is also a track-record holder himself, having raced six furlongs in 1:07.89 at Keeneland to win the Perryville Stakes there on the Breeders' Cup undercard in 2020.