Speedy Whitmore Just Misses Oaklawn Track Record
Following his 2 ¾-length victory in Sunday’s eighth race at Oaklawn, 4-5 favorite Whitmore posed briefly in front of the main infield tote board as if to admire his time.
It was fast. Really fast.
Whitmore, under Jose Ortiz, ran 6 furlongs in 1:08.81 – just off the 2016 meet-best 1:08.80 by Subtle Indian in last April’s $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3).
Ron Moquett of Hot Springs, who co-owns and trains Whitmore, said Monday morning that the mid-January “time” exceeded expectations - “not the race” in mid-January. Whitmore sat just behind a rapid half-mile (:44.72) before taking command on the outside turning for home in his 4-year-old debut.
“I basically told him that I think he’s the best horse,” Moquett said of his prerace instructions to the New York-based Ortiz, the country’s winningest rider in 2016. “He’s fit. Just put him in position to where when you ask him, he can go. But trainers always think that they have the best one.”
The third-level allowance/optional claiming victory kept Whitmore unbeaten in four career sprint starts and made the Pleasantly Perfect gelding’s immediate racing future much clearer, at least for Moquett.
“I have to talk to the partners, but for me it does,” Moquett said. “I think he would be really fun up to a mile. His gallop out yesterday is going to make everybody want to go longer, though.”
Harry Rosenblum and Robert LaPenta also own interests in Whitmore, winless in five career starts around two turns, including a third in last year’s $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn. He finished 19th in the Kentucky Derby three weeks later.
Regarding Whitmore next start, Moquett said he “hopes it’s something here,” adding the gelding will be considered for two sprint stakes – $125,000 King Cotton Feb. 4 and $125,000 Hot Springs March 11. Moquett said he “probably” wants it to be “one of “those two,” but will consider the timing of each and input from Rosenblum and LaPenta before reaching a decision.
Oaklawn’s biggest race for older sprinters is the $400,000 Count Fleet (G3) April 15.
Whitmore has a 4-2-1 record from nine starts overall and earnings of $562,000. He won a first-level allowance/optional claiming sprint at Oaklawn in his 3-year-old debut.
Source: Oaklawn Park