By Alan Carasso
Autumn Hill Farms Racing Stables Inc.'s Bobby's Wicked One (Speightstown), who was eased home last of 11 as the 9-2 fourth choice after attending a hot early pace in Saturday's GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. at Oaklawn, has emerged none the worse for wear from the effort, trainer Al Stall, Jr. said Monday.
“Not so far, he's had a couple of days off, but he goes back to the track [Tuesday],” the conditioner said when asked if anything came to hand post-race. “He will throw in a clunker sometimes. He trained well at Oaklawn, he had three breezes there and they were all very satisfactory. [Jockey] Miguel [Mena] said 100 yards out of the gate he had his head all twisted and just wasn't comfortable at all. Right now we'll draw a line through it unless something comes up over the next few days. He scoped clean after the race and he was cooled out walking the shedrow.”
Winner of the GIII Commonwealth S. and runner-up to eventual Eclipse Award winner Mitole (Eskendereya) in the GI Churchill Downs S. last year, Bobby's Wicked One was below par in his next two, finishing eighth in a lone turf try in the Mighty Beau S. in June and in the Bet on Sunshine S. back on the main track in November. He maintained a perfect four-for-four record in dirt sprints at the Fair Grounds with facile successes against short fields in the Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 18 and in the Duncan F. Kenner S. Jan. 18.
Stall added that stable star Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike) is doing “very well” since his 3/4-length victory in the Apr. 11 Oaklawn Mile S. and has been galloping routinely over the Oaklawn main track.
Both Bobby's Wicked One and Tom's d'Etat will remain in Hot Springs until the Churchill backstretch opens, tentatively set for Apr. 28. Bobby's Wicked One is being pointed to the $125,000 Aristides S. May 30, while Tom's d'Etat is penciled in for the $150,000 Blame S. on the same program, assuming racing goes forward.
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