Holy Boss, Fish Trappe Road Try Loaded Hot Springs

Oaklawn Park's $125,000 Hot Springs Stakes drew a quality field of eight older horses for the March 11 contest, including grade 2 victor Holy Boss, grade 3 winners Fish Trappe Road and Ivan Fallunovalot, and last year's classic contender Whitmore.

Jerry Durant's Holy Boss is the most accomplished in the field, however his score in the 2015 Amsterdam Stakes (G2) was his most recent graded stakes win. He was runner-up in the July 30 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1).

The Steve Asmussen-trained Street Boss   colt is coming into the six furlong Hot Springs off a 5 3/4-length win over four others in the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, his season debut Jan. 21.

Trainer Bret Calhoun will send out Fish Trappe Road for the first time since the Trappe Shot   colt, owned by Martin Racing Stable, finished third in the Sept. 25 Oklahoma Derby (G3) at Remington Park.

As a 3-year-old Fish Trappe Road won the grade 3 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park July 9 before finishing sixth in the Aug. 27 Ketel One King's Bishop Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Texas-bred Ivan Fallunovalot finished fourth in the Feb. 4 King Cotton Stakes won by Storm Advisory, who also returns for the Hot Springs. However, the Valid Expectations gelding ended last year on a four-race win streak that began with the King Cotton and ended with a score in the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes (G3).

Ivan Fallunovalot, trained by Tom Howard and owned by Lewis Mathews Jr., is the oldest in the group and has a record of 15-3-1 from 25 starts.

Robert LaPenta, Harry Rosenblum, and Southern Springs Stable's Whitmore comes into the Hot Springs off two optional-claiming allowance wins at 6 1/2- and six-furlong distances. 

The Pleasantly Perfect colt, who finished second in both the Southwest Stakes (G3) and the Rebel Stakes (G2) before a third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) and an unplaced effort in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands (G1), seems to be turning a new stone at shorter distances.

In Whitmore's last two timed workouts, the colt has breezed five furlongs in :59 3/5 for trainer Ron Moquett, earning a bullet Feb. 26 as the fastest of 36.

The King Cotton second-place finisher, Recount, also returns in the Hot Springs. Trained by James Divito, the Limehouse gelding has finished in the money in 17 of his 24 starts and has nine wins for Doubledown Stables, including the 2014 Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3).

Stakes winners Storm Advisory, Candy Ruby, and Chief Cicatriz round out the field. Undefeated Chief Cicatrizis won three races at Zia Park before taking Sunland Park's KLAQ Handicap and the Phoenix Gold Cup Handicap at Turf Paradise.