Tejano Twist, Surveillance Late Threats in Count Fleet
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Photo: Coady Photography
Tejano Twist wins 2023 Whitmore Stakes at Oaklawn Park
Wagering options are scarce in the four-horse, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 15 at Oaklawn Park, but are plentiful in the supporting $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) on the card.
Ten older male sprinters square off in the six-furlong race and contention among the leading competitors runs deep. Six horses range between odds of 5-2 and 10-1 on the morning line.
Narrowly favored at 5-2 odds is Tejano Twist , a late-running winner of four of his last five starts, including the March 18 Whitmore Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn. The Practical Joke 4-year-old gelding ran six furlongs in the Whitmore in 1:09.27, running a sub :23 final quarter mile, having gained seven lengths into a final split in :24. He matched a career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure in winning the Whitmore.
Francisco Arrieta rides the Chris Hartman trainee for owners JD Thoroughbreds and Joey Keith Davis.
Video: Whitmore S. (G3)
Godolphin's Strobe , who most recently raced at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots for trainer Brad Cox, posted similarly quick speed figures in winning two races in New Orleans this winter, registering a 114 ESF in a Dec. 22 victory and a 110 in a subsequent Jan. 27 score.
Out of action for nearly three months, he ventures into stakes for the first time after capturing four of five starts against lesser company. He carries 119 pounds and jockey Florent Geroux, in receipt of five pounds from high-weighted Tejano Twist. He is 7-2 odds on the morning line.
Edge to Edge , Skelly , Candy Man Rocket , and Surveillance are other apparent players in the Count Fleet.
The latter, 6-1 odds on the morning line for the Count Fleet, won three stakes on dirt this winter at Fair Grounds before losing his latest on turf.
"He's a very talented horse," said Keith Desormeaux, who trains and co-owns the 6-year-old son of Constitution .
James Graham, who won the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn for Desormeaux on the Kentucky Derby (G1)-aimed 3-year-old Confidence Game , returns in the irons. Surveillance also carries 119 pounds.
A bargain $25,000 purchase by Big Chief Racing at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Scott Mallory consignment, Surveillance has won $470,367 in compiling a 6-3-5 record in 23 starts for owners Big Chief Racing, Rocker O Ranch, and Keith Desormeaux. He was not an immediate success story, however, needing 10 starts to break his maiden. He did not reach his potential until he was gelded.
"He's a good horse, but he was a battle," Desormeaux said. "He defined the word rogue when he was younger. He would prop and refuse to train and rear up and take the gap at a full gallop. I just tried what I could with him, giving him breaks, trying to be the best horseman as possible. But I had to go to the ultimate equipment change, finally. That seemed to do the trick. He allowed himself to train and when that happened, the talent emerged."
Oaklawn Park, Saturday, April 15, 2023, Race 9Entries: Count Fleet Sprint H. (G3)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Edge to Edge (KY)
Mitchell Murrill
118
Chris A. Hartman
10/1
2
2Skelly (KY)
Ricardo Santana, Jr.
117
Steven M. Asmussen
4/1
3
3Pirate Rick (KY)
Gabriel Saez
115
Norman L. Cash
20/1
4
4Candy Man Rocket (KY)
Junior Alvarado
122
William I. Mott
6/1
5
5Tejano Twist (KY)
Francisco Arrieta
124
Chris A. Hartman
5/2
6
6Radical Right (KY)
Cristian A. Torres
117
Peter Miller
15/1
7
7Surveillance (KY)
James Graham
119
J. Keith Desormeaux
6/1
8
8Cogburn (KY)
Joel Rosario
116
Steven M. Asmussen
15/1
9
9Payne (KY)
Keith J. Asmussen
115
Steven M. Asmussen
20/1
10
10Strobe (KY)
Florent Geroux
119
Brad H. Cox
7/2
