Red Route One wins at Oaklawn; Preakness next?

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has had a milestone-filled meet, reached another milestone Saturday when Red Route One made him the winningest trainer in Oaklawn’s history with the victory in the $200,000 Bath House Row Stakes.

It was career win 868 for Asmussen, who had tied the late Bob Holthus with a win on Friday. On Feb. 20, Asmussen became the first trainer in North America to reach 10,000 career wins when Bet He’s Ready won at Oaklawn.

In the Bath House Row, Red Route One fell back early and raced in last place while Victory Formation led the field through fractions of 22.87 and 46.95 seconds for the first half-mile. Victory Formation held a narrow lead over his stablemate Tapit Shoes entering the stretch, and the two battled toward the wire. Tapit Shoes began to edge clear before being caught in the final jump by Red Route One, who got up late by a head. Victory Formation was third. The winning time was 1:50.94 for 1 1/8 miles over a fast track.

The win gave jockey Joel Rosario a sweep of all three stakes on Saturday’s card. He also won the Valley of Vapors with Merlazza and the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap with Proxy.

“I always had confidence in the horse,” Rosario said of Red Route One, who is owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds. “It looked like when we got to the sixteenth pole that we had the race won. Then, they kept moving. But he gave everything to me. It was just a close race.”

Red Route One, who won for the second time in nine starts, earned an automatic berth to the Preakness Stakes on May 20 with the win, and Asmussen said he will consider sending him.

"He ran straight through the wire," Asmussen said. "He still gallops out so huge. It feels like there's more there. Maybe the victory, maybe the winning ... Joel gave him a dream trip. I think that he waited until the (Kenny) McPeek horse (Interlock Empire) ran up outside of him and then just got some momentum with him."