If you pay little attention to the happenings at Oaklawn, you might not know very much about Skelly. That’s a shame, because the 5-year-old son of Practical Joke might just be the best sprinter in the U.S.
Returning to his favorite track after a quick sojourn in Saudi Arabia, where he finished a solid second in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, the Steve Asmussen-trained runner did not miss a beat following all the travel.
The defeat in the desert seven weeks ago ended a stretch of seven straight wins for Skelly, but the gelding was back and ready to start a new streak at the friendly confines of Oaklawn. The occasion at the Hot Springs oval was Saturday’s Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3).
This event has been a playground for top sprinters in recent years, with champions Whitmore, Mitole and Jackie’s Warrior accounting for five of the previous seven editions of the six-furlong test.
After his trip to the Middle East, it was fair to wonder whether the Red Lane Thoroughbreds star would be at his best in his first race back in the U.S. Making the task a little more difficult was the presence of a trio of multiple stakes winners in Tejano Twist, Ryvit and Jaxon Traveler.
Those three are accomplished sprinters in their own right, but Skelly is becoming something a bit more than that. Bettors showed their confidence in him by sending him to the gate a 7-10 favorite in the solid field.
Adding another wrinkle to the assignment was an uncharacteristically tardy start for the dark bay speedster. No matter, under the skilled guidance of Ricardo Santana Jr. Skelly split horses and quickly gained command while throwing down intimidating early splits.
The second choice Tejano Twist made his patented late run, but to no avail as Skelly was long gone.
The winning margin, while toting the race highweight of 125 pounds, was reported as three lengths, but not all three-length victories are created equal. This was easy. It was the kind of performance that underscores how fearsome a sprinter Skelly has become.
As noted in the Equibase chart of the race, Skelly blistered his opposition before reaching the wire in racehorse time of 1:08.82 for the six panels.
The victory raised his lifetime mark to nine wins and four seconds in 14 career starts with earnings of just better than $1.46 million, and he only continues to get better.
Surprisingly, Skelly’s lone poor performance in his three-year career came at Oaklawn. After getting steadied at the start in a December 2022 allowance race, an inexperienced version of Skelly rushed up but quit badly to finish last of 12 in his first try at the Arkansas track.
Second in his next start, he now has won seven straight races at Oaklawn, including the last two editions of the Count Fleet. In his only two races away, he was an easy winner of a stakes race at Lone Star Park last spring, and more recently, the good second in Saudi Arabia.
With his only two graded stakes wins coming at Oaklawn, you might be skeptical of whether Skelly can take his game elsewhere to compete and win against the best sprinters in the land.
After seeing all his races of late and watching his first performance back since the trip to Saudi Arabia, I have no such concerns. He is that fast.
It’s going to take something special to beat Skelly in any six-furlong race for the remainder of the season, and that includes the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.
