BY BROCK SHERIDAN
With victories in Oaklawn Park’s Ring the Bell in December and King Cotton (Listed) in February, Florida-bred Roll On Big Joe looks for his third straight sprint victory at the track Saturday in the $500,000 Count Fleet Handicap (Grade 3). The 6-year-old Florida-bred trained by Robert B. Hess Jr. is the 123-pound highweight in the six-furlong test for 4-year-olds and older, giving away between one and seven pounds to his seven opponents including Florida-bred Mad House.
In addition to the purse, both Roll On Big Joe and Mad are running for a $5,000 Export Incentive. The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association pays out Export Incentives to the breeders of Florida-breds who win selected races run outside Florida.
Roll On Big Joe would join Florida-bred C Z Rocket, who in 2021 won both the King Cotton and Count Fleet in the same year when Oaklawn started their race meet in January and did not run the Ring the Bell.
Set as the 2-1 morning line favorite, Roll On Big Joe has won his last three going back to a four-and-a-half-length victory in the $269,000 Bet On Sunshine Stakes (Listed) at Churchill Downs in November. He won the $150,000 Ring the Bell by a length-and-a-quarter and the $150,000 King Cotton (Listed) by a half-length ahead of Tejano Twist, who has been assigned 122-pounds and is 6-1 on the morning line for the Count Fleet.
Roll On Big Joe won six of nine starts last year, including a four-length romp in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes at Santa Anita in February and the Grade 3 Kelly’s Landing by three-quarters of a length at Churchill Downs in June.
Roll On Big Joe is by Prospective out of Nina’s Gift, by Victory Gallop and was bred in Florida by Max Ubide of Ocala. His career ledger reflects 10 wins, six seconds and a third in 23 races with earnings of $841,925 for Tim Cohen’s Rancho Temescal, Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, White Fence and Richard Hale Jr. Rancho Temescal purchased him for $90,000 out of the Gayle Woods consignment at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Sale.
Julien Leparoux will ride Roll On Big Joe from post five.
Mad House makes his second start of the year off a strong comeback win in an upper tier, $100,000 optional claiming at Tampa Bay Downs on March 6. The 4-year-old son of Vekoma went wire-to-wire in winning the six-furlong tilt by nearly four lengths, producing a 91 Beyer Speed Figure with Sonny Leon up.
A winner of five straight last year culminating with a two-and-a-three-quarters-lengths victory the Grade 3 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing on September 20, the David Van Winkle-trained Mad House finished the year with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint won by Florida-bred Bentornato at Del Mar on November 1.
Mad House has earned $318,015 for owner James Thares, winning five of 11 lifetime starts with a second and a third. Thares selected him out of Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree consignment at the 2024 OBS Spring Sale where he paid $47,000. Mad House is out of Stifled Heiress, by Munnings and was bred in Florida by Dr. Jean White, Dunne’s Wavertree Farm and Steven Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds.
Mad House will break from post four with Paco Lopez up and is 15-1 on the morning line.
Third in the Ring the Bell, the Chris Hartman-trained Tejano Twist has won two straight at Oaklawn since finishing third to Roll On Big Joe in the King Cotton. He won an upper level, $80,000 optional claiming on March 1 and the Grade 3 Whitmore two weeks later, both going six furlongs.
Francisco Arrieta has the call on Tejano Twist, who has drawn post seven and is 6-1 in the program.
Also lining up are Maximum Bourbon with jockey Ramon Vasquez, Jose Ortiz rides Tough Catch, Booth will have Eric Asmussen in the saddle, Wendelssohn has John Velasquez taking the riding chores and Dreaminblue breaks from the outside post with Rafael Bejarano up.
Return to the April 10 issue of Wire to Wire
