By Lynne Snierson
Owner Kin Hui got lucky when his homebred son of 2010 Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky, the champion colt at ages 2 and 3, didn’t meet his $42,000 reserve price when offered as a weanling at the 2015 Keeneland Breeding Stock sale and he was kept to race. Now the earner of $646,490, he is a dual Grade 3 winner and the stable star.
Although the gelding’s best distances are up to one mile and he’ll be tested having to go the extra furlong against top class competition, he has an affinity for Gulfstream Park, where he has won five of seven starts on the local racing strip. Both of his graded stakes wins, the Smile Sprint (G3) at 6 furlongs in June and the Mr. Prospector (G3) at 7 furlongs last time out on December 21, landed him in Gulfstream’s winner’s circle.
When taking the Mr. Prospector while coming from off the pace, he defeated the highly regarded Imperial Hint, a finalist for 2019 champion Sprinter, and the ill-fated, Grade 1 winning X Y Jet.
Trainer and co-owner Patrick Biancone said that Diamond Oops is a young 5yo because he missed a year in 2018 when sidelined for his 3yo season. When he roared back in 2019 he was impressive on both the main track and the grass course, finishing second to Imperial Hint the July day that one set a Saratoga track record (1:07.92) in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt at 6 furlongs, and then missing by just a nose in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland next time out in early October. Before cutting back to 7 furlongs in the Mr. Prospector on the dirt, he was 8th in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on November 2 after lunging at the start and losing any chance.
In a workout on Jan. 6 at Palm Meadows Training Center, Diamond Oops went 7 furlongs on the turf 1:23.40 and it was his third straight bullet breeze. The other two were at 5 furlongs on the dirt (1:00.15) December 9 and at 3 furlongs (34.65) from the gate December 17.
Trainer: Patrick Biancone
Owners: Diamond 100 Racing Club (Kin Hui), Amy E. Dunne, DP Racing, Patrick Biancone
Career record: 12 5-2-1
Career earnings: $646,490
Pedigree: Lookin At Lucky-Patriotic Viva, by Whywhywhy
Age: 5
Running style: Versatile. Can close, rate off speed or contest pace
Handicapping Insights:
“Talented sprinter/miler never has gone two turns; dream on.’’ Ed McNamara
“Sprinter/miler type … soundly beaten by Spun To Run and Omaha Beach when eighth in BC Dirt Mile … long shot here.” Noel Michaels
Notes: Originally on the reserve list for the Pegasus World Cup, Diamond Oops was moved up into the main body once the shape of the field changed … if drawing a line through the BC Dirt Mile, Diamond Oops has been first or second in his other efforts (four) dating back to June … Julien Leparoux has been in the irons for all of those last five races … Biancone trained both the dam, who won the 2010 Serena’s Song at Monmouth Park for Kin Hui, and maternal grandsire Whywhywhy, a Grade 1 winner at one mile in 2002 … “This gelding’s fighting spirit is typical of his family,” he said. … Biancone, who enjoyed success in his native France and Hong Kong before coming to the U.S., accomplished victories in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) in back-to-back years with the exceptional All Along (1983) and Sagace (1984).
Horse | Owner | Trainer |
---|---|---|
Diamond Oops | Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy E. Dunne, D P Racing, Patrick Biancone Racing | Patrick Biancone |
Higher Power | Hronis Racing | John Sadler |
Math Wizard | John Fanelli, Khalid Mishref, Cash Is King, LC Racing, Collarmele Vitelli Stables, Ioannis Zoumas, Bassett Stables | Michael Maker |
McKinzie | Karl Watson, Michael Pegram, Paul Weitman | Bob Baffert |
Midcourt | CRK Stable | John Shirreffs |
Mr Freeze | Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister | Dale Romans |
Omaha Beach | Fox Hill Farms | Richard Mandella |
Seeking the Soul | Charles Fipke | Dallas Stewart |
Spun to Run | Robert Donaldson | Juan Carlos Guerrero |
Tax | R.A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Hugh Lynch, Corms Racing Stable | Danny Gargan |
True Timber | Calumet Farm | Kiaran McLaughlin |
War Story | Imaginary Stables, Glenn K. Ellis | Elizabeth Dobles |
Horse | Owner | Trainer |
---|---|---|
Mucho Gusto | Michael Lund Petersen | Bob Baffert |
Magic Wand | Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, Mr. M.J. Jooste | Aidan O’Brien |
Tenfold | Winchell Thoroughbreds | Steve Asmussen |
Bodexpress | Top Racing, Global Thoroughbreds, GDS Racing Stable | Gustavo Delgado |