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OAKLAWN NOTEBOOK FEBRUARY 8, 2008 by Steve Collison SEMAPHORE MAN (Formal Gold) once again captured the King Cotton S. by virtually duplicating his wire-to-wire victory in last year's renewal. Semaphore Man led every step of the $50,000 event before a crowd of 15,261 on Saturday afternoon in Hot Springs, Arkansas. A six-year-old Kentucky-bred trained by Kelly Von Hemel, Semaphore Man became only the second horse in the 58-year history of the King Cotton to win consecutive runnings, following in the hoofsteps of Bay Phantom (1965-66). Coming Saturday, defending champion JONESBORO (Sefapiano) will put his title on the line against a solid field in the $100,000 Essex H. at 1 1/16 miles. This marks the 60th running of the distance stakes for older horses and kicks off a three-race series that concludes with the $500,000 Oaklawn H. (G2) on April 5. Jonesboro comes to the Essex off two straight winning efforts, the Remington Green S. over the turf at Remington in October, and the Sam's Town S. at Delta Downs in December. The six-year-old has now logged eight career wins and earnings of $584,915. But the front-running speedster may have plenty of company, making a repeat win all the more difficult as one of those expected to contest the issue is SPOTSGONE (Bright Launch), a speedy five-year-old who prepped for the Essex with an impressive front-running allowance score at Oaklawn on January 20. TRACK SURFACE A muddy surface on Thursday produced a fair racing strip that showed no signs of a bias. Unfortunately by Friday, a drying-out racing oval was officially rated as "good" and killed speed, with only the opener being won on the front end. The winner of that event, GIN REAL OFFICER (Go for Gin), was going so slow early that he could probably be classified as a closer. By Sunday, the strip was once again fast and playing evenly. NOTES Trainer STANLEY ROBERTS has never been very good with first time starters coming into Hot Springs, winning at an 8 percent clip overall. In fact, he's never hit much higher than that overall. Now, however, Roberts has been enjoying a huge resurgence that includes going against many of his previously established trends. To illustrate this point, he won twice this week with a pair of first-time starters: EXPLOSIVE GHAZIE (Explosive Ridge) on Thursday at 19-1, VILLAGECREEK PARK (Ecton Park) on Sunday at 12-1. Both winners showed morning drills to suggest winning was possible and with this stable being so hot, Roberts' previous numbers need to be re-evaluated. Quite surprisingly, Roberts now leads all trainers with eight winners from just 22 starters. On the flip side, the Steve Asmussen juggernaught has managed to hit a rut here as this usually high flying machine has suddenly become grounded, posting just three wins from its last 36 runners at post. TRAINER PROFILE Until he developed personal problems, trainer Cole Norman was a powerful force on the Oaklawn circuit. Unfortunately, trouble forced him to the sidelines and into his shoes came assistant JORGE LARA. Despite coming into a bad situation last year, Lara still managed to finish second in the final trainer tally here with 22 winners. This year he starts out fresh and brings his own established, solid numbers to back him up. One avenue where he is most adept is having runners ready to go two turns either directly off a sprint prep or in their third or fourth start off the shelf. And like his mentor, Lara is very capable at the claim box where he hits nearly 25 percent with his first-off-the-claim runners. The combination of the above two mentioned patterns is what handicappers need to be aware of. That being when this stable claims a runner then stretches them out going sprint to route. This is a strong and profitable betting scenario. Also like Norman, Jorge knows when to get the most out of a runner by dropping them in class as despite naturally deflated prices. he still manages to show a positive rate of return with runners on the plunge. RECENT CLAIMS TO WATCH Thursday (1/31) 4TH -- SMILIN DEL (Chief Seattle) comes into this event showing just one win from previous 18 attempts, yet Lara still elected to claim him. Since he didn't win today and is still eligible for this non-winners of two condition, the gelding looks likely to capture his next one for new connections. 8TH -- SPLENDID IN SPRING (Best of Luck) came off the shelf dropping in class from much tougher allowance fare. Was astutely claimed by trainer Terry Gestes for a lofty $40,000 tag. Look for the stable to win right off with this talented runner. Friday (2/1) 1ST -- GOODALL (Successful Appeal), a late-closing horse, had no chance of running down the winner who was setting slow fractions on his way to victory. With a more suitable pace scenario, this one will deserve a much closer look. Saturday (2/2) 3RD -- SKYLER'S SISSY (Honour and Glory) ran a credible race while never actually being asked for serious run. The first-time starter was claimed by trainer Chad Brown, who hasn't taken many but is showing signs of being a top-notch claiming trainer. 7TH -- OCEAN EXPRESS (Marquetry) returned off a lengthy layoff for trainer Ralph Irwin who doesn't fare that well under these circumstances. Nevertheless she still picked up her feet and in the process was claimed by Asmussen, who is showing signs of breaking out of his winter slumber here. Sunday (2/3) 7TH -- NORTH OF TOWN (Mizzen Mast) has been running in top form of late while finding the winner's circle today. Was claimed by trainer Jesse Wigginton, a low profile but highly capable claiming trainer. HORSES TO WATCH Thursday (1/31) 1ST -- ABBY THE GREAT (Albert the Great) came off a four-month vacation today but had trouble finding her best stride through the early going over this muddy surface. Once the four-year-old filly found her stride, she showed a solid run. Expect better next out. 3RD -- MCFADDEN (Cinnamon Creek), after a troubled trip in his career debut, never got untracked soon enough to make a difference here. Toss this effort and give this gutsy runner another chance especially if he gets some added ground. 4TH -- PROSPECTORS REWARD (Souvenir Copy) romped over this $10,000 conditioned claiming field despite having more trouble then one horse should. The four-year-old gelding still won going away, and we can easily see a repeat in his future. Saturday (2/2) 5TH -- DANCING FERN (Jump Start) was making only her second career start while coming off a three-month vacation. Suffered through a weak ride but despite her rider's difficulties, the Tim Ritchey runner never quit and was coming on late once clear of traffic. This is a horse with the will to win which transcends everything else. Sunday (2/3) 3RD -- PIKE'S CHARM (Pikepass) has been running into some bad racing luck over the past couple of starts since coming off the bench. However, even though she might not look that sharp on paper, the filly's been running deceptively well and can surprise at a reasonable price. 4TH -- ROYAL DAVID's (Storm and a Half) jockey got him into as much trouble as possible without actually trying to do so. Still was able to gain the place spot and can come back successfully against similar.
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