Hot and Sultry Pursues Black Type in American Beauty
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coady Photography
Hot and Sultry wins an allowance race in 2022 at Churchill Downs
After winning last month's Poinsettia Stakes at Oaklawn Park with Marylou Whitney Stables' Pretty Birdie , trainer Norm Casse aims for more success with a female dirt sprinter, this time with JoAnn and Alex Lieblong's Hot and Sultry in the $150,000 American Beauty Stakes Jan. 21.
The American Beauty, a six-furlong dash, is the sixth race on a 10-race program at 2:55 p.m. CT.
Hot and Sultry, who began racing for Casse this winter after making three initial starts for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, comes off a runner-up finish in a $106,000, non-winners-of-three allowance Dec. 30 at Oaklawn in her first race since July. Catching a muddy track, she chased graded stakes winner Yuugiri , losing by 2 1/4 lengths.
She won a pair of races on fast surfaces for Asmussen before that effort and was second in her debut in December 2021 when racing over a muddy strip.
"We're very excited about her," said Casse, who entered racing Jan. 20 with a 3-for-8 record at the 2022-23 Oaklawn meeting. "Not really sure exactly what she's best at, if she's a sprinter or a router. I think that the jury is still out on that. But this race came up and it just feels like a really good chance to hit the board in a stake with her, possibly win. I don't know what we'll do forward, after this race, but this was a really good opportunity."
The 4-year-old Speightster filly is the 9-5 second favorite on the morning line behind 7-5 Sarah Harper , runner-up in the Poinsettia Stakes for trainer Ron Moquett and owners William Sparks, William and Ty Patterson, and Stephen Bell. The Vancouver 5-year-old mare, bred by Sparks in Kentucky, is 3-1-4 in 10 starts with earnings of $282,593.
"We know that these are pretty closely matched horses, a couple of these in there," Moquett said. "I think it depends on who gets the best trip."
Rafael Bejarano rides Sarah Harper while David Cabrera is aboard Hot and Sultry.
William Henderson, and Victor Mendiola's Perfect Happiness , third in the Dec. 3 Pan Zareta Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, leads the four remaining entries.
She is a two-time local winner for trainer Chris Hartman, Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2015. Hartman claimed Perfect Happiness for $62,500 last March at Oaklawn. She had finished a troubled ninth in her previous start, the 2022 American Beauty, for two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox.
The field is completed by Connie K , I'm the Boss of Me , and Lisette .
The American Beauty is the first of three sprint stakes for older females this year at Oaklawn, a series that continues with the $150,000 Carousel Stakes Feb. 25 and the inaugural $250,000 Matron Stakes March 31. The Carousel and Matron are also at six furlongs.
Oaklawn Park, Saturday, January 21, 2023, Race 6Entries: American Beauty S.
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Connie K (AR)
Jon Kenton Court
122
Randy L. Morse
12/1
2
2Hot and Sultry (KY)
David Cabrera
122
Norm W. Casse
9/5
3
3I'm the Boss of Me (KY)
Francisco Arrieta
122
Greg Compton
8/1
4
4Lisette (KY)
Mickaelle Michel
115
D. Wayne Lukas
20/1
5
5Sarah Harper (KY)
Rafael Bejarano
122
Ron Moquett
7/5
6
6Perfect Happiness (KY)
Nik Juarez
122
Chris A. Hartman
7/2
