Jazzy Times Joins Cox Stable at Oaklawn

Jazzy Times, third in the $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G1) Oct. 8 at Santa Anita, will probably make his 4-year-old debut in a second-level allowance race, trainer Brad Cox said Monday morning.

Cox said Jazzy Times joined his barn Jan. 2 after previously being based in Southern California with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Discreetly Mine, is among approximately seven horses Cox trains for one of his newest high-profile clients, Ahmed Zayat (Zayat Stables, LLC), who campaigned 2015 Triple Crown winner and two-time Oaklawn stakes winner (Rebel and Arkansas Derby) American Pharoah.

Jazzy Times recorded his first work over the Oaklawn surface Saturday morning, breezing a half-mile in :47.40. The time ranked second of 68 works registered at the distance.

“He’s a fast horse,” Cox said. “Fast horses breeze fast, I guess.”

Jazzy Times broke his maiden last May at Churchill Downs, but has made his last six starts in Southern California.  After the Santa Anita Sprint Championship, Jazzy Times ran second in the $100,000 Damascus Stakes Nov. 4 at Santa Anita and ninth in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

“Just a horse that looks like he’ll fit on this circuit, more than anything else,” Cox said, when asked why Zayat moved the horse to the Midwest.

Jazzy Times has a 2-2-3 record from eight lifetime starts and earnings of $155,945.

Finish Lines: The sealed surface was rated good for workouts Monday morning, with fog obscuring much of the course. … Four-time defending Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. is named on six horses Friday after missing the first five days of the meeting because of a suspension stemming from the 2016 season. … Trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel said Monday morning that Suddenbreakingnews emerged from his 6-furlong workout Saturday in good order, the latest step toward his 4-year-old debut. “I was very happy,” Von Hemel said. “Got out of it what we needed, so, hopefully, we’ll get to run sometime soon.” The gelding, who covered 6 furlongs in 1:13.20, won the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) last year at Oaklawn. … Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen (499 career Oaklawn victories) has four horses entered Monday. … Approximately 60 members of the Churchill Downs Racing Club are scheduled to watch Warrior’s Club run in Monday’s $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds, club manager Gary Palmisano said. Warrior’s Club is one of two horses owned by the Churchill Downs Racing Club, a non-profit club formed last spring to encourage low-cost, low-risk ownership – 200 members across the country paid a $500 one-time membership fee to cover the purchase price of the horse and training bills. The club’s other horse, Dial Me, is scheduled to make her 3-year-old debut Friday at Oaklawn. Both horses are trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. … Veteran jockey Tommy Pompell recorded his first career Oaklawn victory in Sunday’s fifth race aboard favored Rhodium ($7), according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Pompell, who has 2,416 career victories since 1996, is riding regularly at Oaklawn for the first time this year. He was beaten a nose in his first Oaklawn start, the 2015 Trail’s End, a 1 ¾-mile marathon that is traditionally the final race of the meeting. … Saturday first-level allowance winner Rockshaw will probably make his next start in the $125,000 Gazebo Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters March 4, trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Monday morning. … Dupree, named for former Oklahoma, USFL and NFL running back Marcus Dupree, broke his maiden in Sunday's ninth race for Moquett. … Dutch Parrot earned Oaklawn’s 10-percent Lasix-free bonus ($4,320 in this case) after the Arkansas-bred 3-year-old daughter of Eskendereya broke her maiden in Sunday’s sixth race for trainer Will VanMeter and owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs (Shortleaf Stable, Inc.). … Comic Bird earned a $4,000 Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ & Horsemen’s Association incentive bonus for beating open company in Saturday’s sixth race.

Source: Oaklawn Park