‘Rising Star’ Booth Tough as Nails En Route to Count Fleet Victory

[Wandering Eyes]

'TDN Rising Star' Booth (Mitole) took a lot of pressure early, but refused to yield late, and held off all comers in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint Handicap to give the Asmussen clan the exacta.

Ridden by Erik Asmussen and trained by Steve Asmussen, the chestnut went right to the front with California invader Anarchist (Distorted Humor) glued to his hip. That pair broke off from the field into a private match race on the backside through an opening split of :21.87 and a half in :44.66 before swinging into lane still together. As his rival began to fade and the closers loomed the danger, Booth gave just enough to hold of stablemate Ryvit (Competitive Edge) with Keith Asmussen aboard in a 1-2 for the barn.

Saturday, Oaklawn
COUNT FLEET SPRINT H.-GIII, $500,000, Oaklawn, 4-12, 4yo/up, 6f, 1:09.82, ft.
1–BOOTH, 123, c, 4, by Mitole
                1st Dam: Sophia's Song (SW & GSP, $155,892),
                                by Bellamy Road
                2nd Dam: Dreamscape, by Mt. Livermore
                3rd Dam: Big Dreams, by Great Above
($120,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $225,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). 'TDN Rising'. O-L. William Heiligbrodt, Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm and Whispering Oaks Farm LLC; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Erik Asmussen. $285,000. Lifetime Record: 10-6-0-0, $761,191. *1/2 to Musical Mischief (Into Mischief), GSW & GISP, $519,276 and Bright Future (Curlin), GISW, $947,940. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ryvit, 118, h, 5, Competitive Edge–She Is Bedazzling, by Medaglia d'Oro. ($70,000 Ylg '21 TTAYHR). O-L. William and Corinne Heiligbrodt; B-Curt Leake (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $95,000.
3–Anarchist, 119, h, 6, Distorted Humor–Vicarious Won, by Elusive Quality. ($75,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Ilium Stables, LLC; B-Centaur Farms, Inc. (KY); T-Chief Stipe F. O'Neill. $47,500.
Margins: 3/4, HD, HF. Odds: 0.40, 22.10, 7.10.
Also Ran: Happy American, Tejano Twist, Devil's Tower, Payne.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Booth takes the pressure and kept rolling in the G3 Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park under Erik Asmussen!

A Steve Asmussen exacta with Ryvit running second.

TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/6v6ehSw4fl

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 12, 2025

The post ‘Rising Star’ Booth Tough as Nails En Route to Count Fleet Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article