Skelly Scorches To Count Fleet Sprint Repeat

Red Lane Thoroughbreds' Skelly had things his own way in the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn Park, spurting out to lead early while setting withering fractions on his way to a second successive victory in the race.

The 5-year-old Practical Joke gelding, the 7-10 favorite under Ricardo Santana Jr., won by three lengths from Tejano Twist, who surged from last but could not match the strides with the winner. 

Skelly set blistering fractions of :21.52 and :43.88 for a half mile while leading by three lengths in the six-furlong contest. After extending his advantage to 4 1/2 lengths in early stretch, he was hand-ridden to the wire, scoring the facile victory, his ninth from 14 career starts, including last year's gate-to-wire triumph.

Skelly finished the trip in 1:08.82 and returned $3.40 for the win.

Tejano Twist, last in the seven-horse field through a half mile, rallied four wide into the lane and closed with determination for the runner-up spot. He was 1 1/2 lengths to the good of third-place finisher Happy is a Choice.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Skelly entered off a runner-up finish in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia. That race capped a seven-race win streak, six of which were at Oaklawn, but he was emphatically back to his best Saturday.

Skelly, bred in Kentucky by H. Allen Poindexter, is out of the Bwana Charlie mare Adande. He has amassed lifetime earnings of $1,460,163.