Texas-bred Ivan Fallunovalot will make his next start in the $125,000 Hot Springs Stakes for older sprinters March 10, owner Lewis Mathews said Saturday morning.
The 6-furlong Hot Springs will be the second opportunity for Ivan Fallunovalot to reach $1 million in career earnings, which Mathews said is a major goal before the 8-year-old Texas-bred gelding is retired to the owner’s farm in Bismarck, Ark.
Ivan Fallunovalot has earned $986,403 in a 30-race career that includes 17 victories, two of which came in Oaklawn’s King Cotton Stakes (2015 and 2016).
Ivan Fallunovalot had a chance to become a seven-figure money winner in the $125,000 King Cotton Feb. 3, but finished second, beaten two lengths by Wilbo, following a tardy break and racing five-wide on the turn in the 6-furlong event.
“Terrible start,” said Mathews, who claimed the gelding for $25,000 at the 2014 Oaklawn meeting. “He showed a lot of heart. He didn’t quit. A lot of horses would have quit.”
According to the Texas Thoroughbred Association, the state’s official breed registry for Thoroughbreds, 1987 sprint champion Groovy ($1,346,956) and Texas Chrome ($1,033,262) are the only Texas-bred millionaires.
Ivan Fallunovalot, the 2015 TTA Texas Horse of the Year, also finished second in his 2018 debut, a Jan. 14 allowance/optional claimer that was a local prep for the King Cotton. Wilbo also won that race by a length.
“You know Ron will have one or two in there,” Mathews said, referring to trainer Ron Moquett and the Hot Springs. “Wilbo will be back. There will be others in there.”
Ivan Fallunovalot finished second in the 2015 Hot Springs, which is the final major local prep for the $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) April 14.
Mathews said the major spring objective for Ivan Fallunovalot, who is trained by Tom Howard of Hot Springs, is the Count Fleet.
Moquett said defending champion Whitmore is pointing for the Hot Springs. Wilbo is also scheduled to make his next start in the Hot Springs, trainer Chris Hartman said.
(from Oaklawn news release)