Shopper’s Revenge breaks his maiden impressively Jan. 14 at Oaklawn (Coady Photography)
By Robert Yates – Oaklawn Barn Notes
HOT SPRING, Ark.— Next-out plans are pending for powerful Jan. 14 Oaklawn maiden special weight graduate Shopper’s Revenge, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said Saturday afternoon.
The royally bred Shopper’s Revenge – Tapit out of millionaire 2015 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria – received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 85 for his front-running 5 ¼-length victory under Ricardo Santana Jr. The 1 1/16-mile race marked the two-turn and 3-year-old debut of Shopper’s Revenge, who was exiting a runner-up finish on the “Stars of Tomorrow 2 program” Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs. It was his first career start.
“It’ll be interesting,” Asmussen said. “I’m as high on him as you can be on something that’s run twice. Do you want to feed him to Arabian Knight or something of the likes next time? But I love how he ran over the racetrack here in his first two-turn race and I love how he’s training right now.”
The Asmussen-trained Red Route One finished second to unbeaten Arabian Knight in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-mile Southwest was Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby points races.
