Lambeth scoring under Brian Hernandez, Jr., aboard for the first time. (Coady Media)
Robert Yates/Oaklawn Park
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. took a long, long merry-go ride Friday afternoon at Oaklawn, but it was worth it.
Hernandez guided Carl R. Moore’s favored Lambeth to a wire-to-wire victory in the $200,000 Temperence Hill Stakes for older horses at 1 ½ miles. Lambeth finished 3 ½ lengths ahead of Game Warden, who was 9 ¾ lengths clear of third-place finisher Time for Trouble. The top three finishers were 1-2-3 throughout much of the three-turn race.
Rock’n a Halo, who finished fourth, was followed, in order, by defending champion Masqueparade, Dai Vernon, Confidence Game, One Giant Leap, Shattuck and Red Run. Sir Greylind, the 5-2 program favorite, was scratched, reducing the starting field to 10.
Lambeth ($6) was making his stakes debut in the Temperence Hill for Moore and Joe Sharp, newly minted Fair Grounds training champion. Lambeth was exiting a sharp allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 23 at Oaklawn.
Ridden for the first time by Hernandez, Lambeth broke alertly from post 10 and was able to take early control. The 4-year-old son of deceased champion Arrogate maintained a comfortable advantage through a :49.09 half-mile, 1:14.24 for 6 furlongs, 1:40.51 for a mile and 2:06.09 for 1 ¼ miles.
“I’d never seen this horse before, but he (trainer Joe Sharp) texted me this morning and said, ‘Hey, you’re going to love him. He doesn’t leave there all that quick, so just help him away from there.,” Hernandez said.
“Once I did that – from the outside post – he made the lead pretty easily and we got to kind of walk around there. The cool thing about him is it was a new avenue for him to try the three turns and when he crossed under the wire there at the finish line, he looked like he was looking for more. So, it looks like we’ve got a future for him now,” he continued.
Lambeth wasn’t threatened in the short stretch run – the race ended at the sixteenth pole – and clocked 1 ½ miles over a good track in 2:31.88. He carried equal top weight of 124 pounds.
Lambeth was originally campaigned by his breeder, famed Juddmonte Farm, and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Moore purchased Lambeth last fall for $135,000 in Fasig-Tipton’s October Digital Sale.
“He (trainer Joe Sharp) has been telling me this horse never wants to stop. He wants to keep going and going and going,” remarked owner Carl Moore. ‘You know, I want to try him long. I think he’ll be running huge.’ He was right.”
The Temperence Hill was Lambeth’s fourth victory in 10 lifetime starts and raised his earnings to $294,850.
Racing continues Saturday at Oaklawn, with the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) headlining a 14-race card that begins at 11:20 a.m. CDT. Gates open at 10:30 a.m., with probable post time for the Arkansas Derby, the 13th race, 6:48 p.m. Weather permitting, the infield will be open.
The Arkansas Derby, a major Kentucky Derby prep, is one of six stakes races on the card.
