Oaklawn Park Start. (Coady Photography)
Million Dollar Baby
Trivista Overnight Draws 11
By Robert Yates
HOT SPRINGS, Ark.—Sunday is election day at Oaklawn.
The 12th and final race, a $110,000 Arkansas-bred maiden special weight sprint, will mark the career debut of Mayor, a 3-year-old gelding bred and owned by Van Buren, Ark.-based JRita Young Thoroughbreds and trained by Ron Moquett of Hot Springs.
Everett Young, aka, “JR,” and wife Rita, named Mayor after the late Allen Toothaker, who was Van Buren’s mayor in 1958-1978 and 1991-1994.
“Very happy about it,” said Toothaker’s son, Mark Toothaker, who is stallion sales manager for Kentucky’s famed Spendthrift Farm. “They’ve been such good friends and were great friends of dad. We’re very happy with all that. They’re good folks.”
Mark Toothaker is a native of Van Buren, a town of approximately 24,000 in far western Arkansas near the Oklahoma border. Toothaker said he grew up on a bluff overlooking the Arkansas River, “right down the street” from Everett Young, who was a hunting buddy and business partner (property development) of Allen Toothaker.
“I don’t know of a time when I didn’t know JR,” Mark Toothaker said. “I didn’t meet Rita until later on, when they got married, but I’ve known JR my entire life. Never known a time I didn’t know JR.”
Mark Toothaker and the Youngs later became business partners in the Thoroughbred industry, racing horses together in 2010 and 2011. JRita Young Thoroughbreds was formed shortly before the couple purchased 40 acres of land in 2011 from Allen Toothaker’s family. The land in east Van Buren, once Allen Toothaker’s cattle farm, became 4 T Aker Farm, which is now home to the Youngs’ broodmare band that targets the lucrative Arkansas-bred program.
“It (farm) looks fantastic, phenomenal,” Mark Toothaker said. “They’ve done such a good job with it. It’s unrecognizable from what it used to look like.”
The first foal born at 4 T Aker Farm, Rita Young said, was Mayor, who is by Grade 3 winner Cutting Humor. Toothaker said he’s known for approximately a year that the Youngs planned to name a horse after Allen Toothaker, who died in 2004.
“We’ve been anticipating this and excited about it for a while,” Toothaker said.
Mayor is a half-brother to Landlord, who won two races last season at Oaklawn for JRita Young Thoroughbreds and Moquett. Landlord also finished second in the $150,000 Rainbow Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred sprinters. Landlord and Mayor are out of Vivian Da Bling, who won the My Trusty Cat Stakes in 2014 at Delta Downs.
Mayor has five published workouts since Dec. 28 at Oaklawn, including a half-bullet from the gate (:47.80) Feb. 3. Mayor (4-1 on the morning line) is scheduled to be ridden by Flavien Prat, the 2024 Eclipse Award winner as the country’s outstanding jockey.
“It sounds like that he’s got a little bit of talent, so that’s what we’re hopeful for,” Toothaker said of Mayor. “Hopefully, he makes good showing.”
Probable post time for the 12th race is 5:53 p.m. (Central).
Million Dollar Baby
Triple Crown nominee Cornucopian is the 2-1 program favorite for Sunday’s fifth race at Oaklawn, a six-furlong $110,000 maiden special weight for 3-year-olds.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Cornucopian was purchased for $1.1 million at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Cornucopian is by Into Mischief, North America’s leading sire the last six years.
Baffert said Cornucopian and stablemate Madaket Road arrived Tuesday at Oaklawn. Madaket Road is entered in Sunday’s $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2), a major Kentucky Derby prep. Cornucopian has 21 published workouts, dating to April 17, in advance of his debut.
“He’s been working well,” said Baffert, who is based at Santa Anita. “I just thought if I was going to send him (Madaket Road) up there, I might as well send another horse up there and split them up. I’ve got more maidens that need to run down here.”
Baffert said Cornucopian and Madaket Road were flown from Los Angeles to Memphis, Tenn., then vanned approximately 190 miles to Hot Springs. Irad Ortiz Jr. is named to ride Cornucopian from post 7.
“Like anything, they have to ship well, and they have to break, and they have to run their race,” Baffert said.
Cornucopian is out of Magical World, making him a half-brother to millionaire multiple Grade 1 winner Guarana. Cornucopian races for a high-profile ownership that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and Stonestreet Stables.
Trivista Overnight Draws 11
In Just My Heels returns to stakes competition in Sunday’s inaugural $145,000 Trivista Overnight, which is for horses that have never won a stakes race, other than state-bred.
In Just My Heels, who drew post 11 in the projected 11-horse field, is seeking her third consecutive victory at the 2024-2025 Oaklawn meeting. She ran in two stakes last season at Oaklawn, finishing seventh in the $400,000 Honeybee (G3) and 10th in the $750,000 Fantasy (G2). Both races were 1 1/16 miles. The Trivista Overnight is also 1 1/16 miles.
A homebred for owner Anita Ebert, In Just My Heels (3-1 on the morning line) has won four of her last five starts, with her last two allowance victories in a new off-the-pace running style.
“I think that’s the improvement,” trainer Ron Moquett said. “One of the things is we played with blinkers. We took them off and then we started to take back. The fact that’s she getting confident and then running is the big thing.”
In Just My Heels is out of High Heels, who won the 2007 Fantasy (G2) for Ebert.
Peignoir, who is trained by Rodolphe Brisset, is the 5-2 program favorite for the Trivista Overnight. Amber Cascade (7-2) has won two of her last three starts for trainer Cherie DeVaux, including a second-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds.
“She’s a nice filly that keeps improving,” DeVaux said. “She tries every start, so the next logical progression is try her in a stake and see how she does.”
Another Trivista Overnight contender is Indy Label (8-1) for trainer Matt Shirer. Indy Label exits a runner-up finish, beaten a length, in the $150,000 Pippin Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 19 at Oaklawn.
“She’s a nice horse,” Shirer said.
