Mitole's 'TDN Rising Star' Booth Makes a Splash On Seasonal Debut

3rd-Oaklawn, $140,000, Alw (NW1$X), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 2-11, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.81, sy, 4 1/4 lengths.
BOOTH (c, 3, Mitole–Sophia's Song {SW & GSP, $155,892}, by Bellamy Road) earned the 'TDN Rising Star' badge with a towering 5 1/4-length debut success at Keeneland Oct. 7, good for a 96 Beyer that was a few points faster than the one posted by Locked (Gun Runner) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity two races earlier, the different distances notwithstanding. The chestnut was accordingly sent off at 62 cents on the dollar to take the next step in the Nov. 25 Ed Brown S. at Churchill, but he dropped away in the final furlong to finish fifth behind Just Steel (Justify). The barn elected to send Booth to the Fair Grounds to train in an effort to avoid the wintry weather that plagued Hot Springs last month, but he was returning here as the 3-5 chalk with Lasix on for the first time. Booth was not the quickest away, but Keith Asmussen was content to take the trail on the back of the pacesetter into the turn. Momentarily short of room in upper stretch, he shifted across heels into the three path at the three-sixteenths and was in a race of his own from there. A half-brother to last year's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup hero Bright Future (Curlin), $836,940; and to Musical Mischief (Into Mischief), $145,384, third in the 2023 GI American Oaks, Booth was a $120,000 KEESEP yearling and $225,000 OBS March breezer. Hailing from the deep female family of two-time Eclipse Award winner Housebuster (Mt. Livermore), Booth has a 2-year-old half-brother by Tiz the Law and a yearling half-brother by Maxfield. Sophia's Song was purchased by Shadai Farm for $1.35 million in foal to Jackie's Warrior at last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Sales history: $120,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $225,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $147,942. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-L William & Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm & Whispering Oaks Farm LLC; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen.

#2 BOOTH ($3.20) blows by the field to win race 3 at Oaklawn Park in impressive fashion.

This is the second win in three career starts for the Steve Asmussen trainee, who was piloted by @keithasm7. pic.twitter.com/mfIhA4KnFD

— TVG (@TVG) February 11, 2024