For Immediate Release

Famed Spendthrift Farm, the Kentucky breeding/racing operation founded by the late B. Wayne Hughes, rang in the New Year with four winners Dec. 31 at Oaklawn, its second card in history exclusively for 2-year-olds.

Three winners were from the first crop of stallions Spendthrift stands. Unbeaten Carbone, an entry-level allowance winner, and Ice Cold, winner of the $200,000 Year’s End Stakes, are by champion Mitole. Time for Truth, by Omaha Beach, won his career debut sprinting for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs and Arkansas owner Harry Rosenblum. Spendthrift also races Pun Intended, another maiden special weight graduate.

Mitole and Omaha Beach, both multiple Oaklawn stakes winners, finished first and fourth, respectively, in progeny earnings among North American first-crop sires. Spendthrift also stands Maximus Mischief and Vino Rosso, second and third, respectively, among North American first-crop sires in 2023.

Omaha Beach was among the country’s leading 3-year-olds in 2019 after winning Oaklawn’s second division of the $750,000 G2-Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1and $1 million G1-Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles for Hall of Fame Trainer Richard Mandella. Omaha Beach’s stud fee is $40,000.

“We haven’t seen as many of them start as we have on the other three, Vino, Max and Mitole,” Spendthrift stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker said. “But we feel like, and I think the whole industry is kind of betting on the fact they’ll be much better 3-year-olds than 2-year-olds. I think we’ve seen them kind of progress as we’ve gone through this last month. He’s had some exciting winners. He’s a gorgeous horse. I came down there for the Rebel and Mandella told me: ‘Look, I think, he’s as good a horse as I’ve ever hung a bridle on.’ When Richard’s telling you that, you’ve got to get back and tell Mr. Hughes that we’ve got to figure out how to buy this one.”

Rosenblum purchased Time for Truth for just $47,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Rosenblum said he didn’t attend the sale, but was alerted to the horse by a friend.

Time for Truth worked an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 in his under-tack preview breeze and had one of the sale’s fastest gallop outs, Rosenblum said. Rosenblum said he purchased the colt privately after he failed to meet his reserve.

“He had an insignificant vet issue and buyers shied away,” Rosenblum said. “If my friend hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t own the horse.”

Rosenblum named Time for Truth after a 1978 book, “A Time for Truth,” written by William E. Simon, the late United States Treasury Secretary. Time for Truth – the horse – received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 89 for his front-running 1 ¾-length victory. The winning time over a fast track was 1:10.52.

“Omaha, man, what an impressive winner he had for Harry and Ron,” Toothaker said. “That was crazy good. That’s exciting.”

Moquett said he admired Omaha Beach during his racing career, adding the trainer’s future champion, Whitmore, was stabled in Mandella’s barn for the 2019 G1-Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita. Omaha Beach ran in the 2019 G1-Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

“Always thought he was a really beautiful, classy-looking horse,” Moquett said. “They (initial crop of foals) were a little out of our price range, so this was the first one that was affordable.”

Moquett said Time for Truth could make his next start around two turns.

For Immediate Release

Ramon Vazquez became just the 13^th jockey to reach 400 career victories at Oaklawn when Misty Veil captured Saturday’s $150,000 Pippin Stakes.

Vazquez spent 11 consecutive seasons as an Oaklawn regular (2012-2021-2022) – collecting 393 victories and eight top four finishes in the standings – before relocating to Southern California in April 2022. Vazquez, 39, returned to Oaklawn this season, with the Pippin his seventh meet victory.

“I’m so happy that I won 400 here,” Vazquez said following the race. “This is home for me.”

A native of Puerto Rico, Vazquez recorded his first Oaklawn victory Jan. 13, 2012. The jockey’s most lucrative career victory to date came in the $1 million G2-Rebel Stakes in 2022 at Oaklawn aboard 75-1 shot Un Ojo.

Vazquez rode Misty Veil for trainer Mike Maker and co-owners Michael Hui and John H. Yocum of Little Rock, Ark.

Peitz Remembers Cantey

Asked what made Joe Cantey a successful trainer, Dan Peitz simply said: “He was just a good horseman.”

Cantey, who rose to national prominence in the late 1970s training for the Loblolly Stable of Arkansas lumberman John Ed Anthony, Oaklawn’s all-time winningest owner, died Friday in Camden, S.C. He was 82. Cantey had been in declining health and reportedly died of lung and mouth cancer.

“We heard about a week ago that he wasn’t doing any good,” Peitz said Saturday morning at Oaklawn. “Got a text yesterday morning saying that he has passed.”

Before launching his training career in 1987, Peitz worked for 1976 Preakness-winning trainer Paul Adwell, then spent approximately seven years under Cantey, rising from groom to barn foreman to assistant.

“The first day I walked in the shed row, no knock against Paul Adwell or anything, but he (Cantey) didn’t miss anything,” Peitz said. “Every morning, the first thing he would do was walk down the shed row and look at every feed tub, Richie O’Connell was working for him at the time as his assistant, Richie was going around and feeling every horse’s legs. Everybody was getting done up in four bandages. Everybody had their own brushes. He did it the right way. Right away, I was like: ‘This is the way it ought to be.’ ”

Among the horses that passed through Cantey’s barn in the late 1970s and early 1980s were Cox’s Ridge – Loblolly’s first nationally prominent runner – Eclipse Award winner Temperence Hill and grass standout Majesty’s Prince.

Cox’s Ridge won the G1-Met Mile in 1978 at Belmont Park and the G2-Oaklawn Handicap and G3-Razorback Handicap – the trainer’s first of a record five victories in the race – earlier that year at Oaklawn.

Temperence Hill, also campaigned by Loblolly, was the country’s champion 3-year-old male of 1980 after winning Oaklawn’s G2-Arkansas Derby, G1-Belmont Stakes, G1-Travers Stakes at Saratoga, G1-Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park.

Majesty’s Prince was a multiple Grade 1 winner of $2,077,796.

Cantey had 169 career victories at Oaklawn, the first seven coming in 1974. He won 26 percent of starts in 1978-1986 (162 of 628), including 16 stakes races. Temperence Hill returned to Oaklawn in 1981 to win the G3-Razorback Handicap and G2-Oaklawn Handicap. Cantey also won the Razorback in 1982 and 1983 with Eminency and again in 1984 with Dew Line.

“Had a lot of nice horses while I was working for him,” Peitz said. “He kind of had a little run here on the Razorback. He kind of owned that race. I remember the last one was with a little horse named Dew Line. He was a stakes horse, but just kind of a cut below. We were going up for the Razorback, I said: ‘Joe, this is your race.’ He said: ‘Hmm, had a little bigger bullets in the past.’ Damn, if he didn’t win the race.”

Cantey, in his prime, retired from training in 1987 and returned to South Carolina, eventually opening a sport shooting range in Camden, his hometown. Cantey was a world champion (sporting clays).

For Immediate Release

HOT SPRINGS, AR (Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024) – Misty Veil, perhaps, made her final career start a winning one.

Stalking a soft pace, Misty Veil cut the corner turning for home, then repelled a midstretch challenge on the outside by favored Ice Orchid to record a one-length victory in the $150,000 Pippin Stakes for older fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Oaklawn.

The 8 ½-furlong Pippin marked the first career stakes victory for Misty Veil, a 6-year-old daughter of Tonalist who is entered in next week’s Keeneland January of Horses of All Ages Sale, and the 400^th at Oaklawn for jockey Ramon Vazquez. Only 12 other riders in Oaklawn history have reached that total. Vazquez rode Misty Veil ($8.20) for trainer Mike Maker and co-owners Michael Hui and John H. Yocum of Little Rock, Ark.

Ice Orchid, the 9-5 favorite, held second, a neck in front of late-running Butterbean. Lovely Ride, who led through a :49.09 half-mile, and Tiz a Macho Girl completed the order of finish.

Misty Veil’s winning time over a muddy, sealed surface was 1:45.27. She was exiting a runner-up finish behind Butterbean in Oaklawn’s one-mile $150,000 Mistletoe Stakes Dec. 9.

Misty Veil won for the seventh time in 34 career starts to increase her earnings to $617,093. Maker, on behalf of Hui, claimed Misty Veil for $80,000 out of a fourth-place finish in a Nov. 24, 2022, allowance/optional claimer at Churchill Downs. In 12 starts for her new connections, Misty Veil has bankrolled roughly $275,000. She also won a starter allowance route last March at Oaklawn.

Hui said Misty Veil is scheduled to ship Sunday to Kentucky for the Keenland sale, where she is entered as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Live racing resumes Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (Central).

Pippin Quotes

Winning jockey Ramon Vazquez: “I got a good position from the beginning. I just got her out a little bit at the three-eighths (pole), but then I got in a little traffic. Then, the hole opened on the rail and she came home really well.”

Winning co-owner Michael Hui: “I had a good feeling, just as long as the 1 (Lovely Ride) didn’t get away. The pace was slow, but we were close. That’s good for Ramon (Vazquez) to get 400. It was even better to see Ramon come up the rail. She leaves tomorrow for Kentucky.”

Finish Lines

Two wins Friday propelled reigning Oaklawn riding champion Cristian Torres into a first-place tie in the standings after the first 10 days of the scheduled 66-day meeting. Torres won the first race aboard Sistersouttachrome ($7) for trainer Ronnie E. Cravens III and the fifth race aboard favored Tenacious Lady ($6.80) for 2022-2023 Oaklawn leading trainer Robertino Diodoro … Faithful Ruler was the first career Oaklawn winner for jockey Harry Hernandez, who missed the first six days of the meeting after breaking his collarbone in a late November accident at Remington Park, where he had previously been based. Hernandez, based at Oaklawn for the first time, has won riding titles at Canterbury Park and Turf Paradise.

Jockey Cristian Torres ($1,024,500) surpassed $1 million in purse earnings Saturday, equaling his Oaklawn record for fastest to reach seven figures at a meeting. Torres also reached $1 million in purse earnings on Day 11 last season. … Francisco Arrieta, Oaklawn’s co-leading rider in 2021-2022, won two races Saturday to take the lead this season. Arrieta won the second race aboard favored Ghostly Night ($6.60) for trainer Matt Shirer and the fifth race aboard Bandera Azteca ($14.60) for trainer Kevin Martin. Arrieta has 11 victories this season. … Midnight Rising ($33.20) represented the first career Oaklawn victory for Kentucky-based trainer Jordan Blair in Saturday’s 10^th race.