(Edited Oaklawn Park report)

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas may be sitting in the catbird seat at Oaklawn this weekend as he send two of the stars of his heralded barn postward as main contenders for honors in Saturday’s $300,000 Rebel Stakes and Sunday’s $125,000 Honeybee Stakes.  Both races are scheduled for a mile-and-a-sixteenth and should label the winners as among the elite from the three-year-old crop.

Heading Lukas’s colts and gelding is Dublin, a son of Afleet Alex and second place finisher in the recent Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.  The chestnut runner was flying at the end of the one mile Southwest and just failed to catch the undefeated winner, Conveyance.  Winner of the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last summer, Dublin has been highly-regarded ever since and is expected to improve with distance.  His Southwest Stakes effort came on the heels of surgery for an entrapped epiglottis and gave trainer Lukas plenty of confidence that the colt is on the right track to Triple Crown success.  He continues to train brilliantly and will be tough to handle on Saturday.

Saturday’s race will be a major test for Dublin, since he will likely do battle with two or three of the most highlyly-respected members of the three-year-old crop.  Amont those expected for Saturday’s Rebel are Watson, Pegram and Weltman’s champion two-year-old Lookin At Lucky, Chasing Dreams Racing 2008’s Noble’s Promise and WinStar Farm’s Super Saver, all considered among the top ten Triple Crown prospects.

Lookin At Lucky comes from the barn of trainer Bob Baffert, who has scored with both of the horses he has sent to Oaklawn for stakes events this far this year, Conveyance in the Southwest and Freedom Star in the Azeri.  The bay son of Smart Strike, who also sired former Oaklawn champion Curlin, has won five of six outings, losing only in a photo to Vale Of York in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. Baffert has expressed a desire to give the winner of $1,243,000 a chance to prove himself on conventional dirt, since all his previous efforts have been on synthetic tracks.  Champion jockey Garrett Gomez, a former regular at Oaklawn, will be anticipated back in the saddle for Looking At Lucky on Saturday.

Noble’s Promise, trained by another former Oaklawn regular, Ken McPeek, has hopes of gaining a measure of revenge, having suffered losses in his last two races to Lookin At Lucky.  The bay son of Cuvee followed a win in Keeneland’s Breeders’ Futurity Stakes with a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, then second to Lookin At Lucky in Hollywood Park’s Cash Call Futurity.  His record now shows three wins from six starts and earnings of $733,500.  However, like Lookin At Lucky, all his success has been on synthetic tracks, so trainer McPeek is seeking out a good test on a conventional dirt track prior to his assault on the Triple Crown.

On the other hand Super Saver, from the strong barn of trainer Todd Pletcher, has enjoyed dirt track success, thanks to a win in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November.  The speedy son of Maria’s Mon has earnings of $171,232, so he will likely need to win one of the remaining preps to amass enough earnings to get a chance to start in the Kentucky Derby.

While Lukas anticipates a big effort from Dublin on Saturday, he is also anticipating some success with Westrock Stable’s Decelerator in Sunday’s Honeybee.  Decelerator returned to the winner’s circle in the one mile Martha Washington Stakes on February 13.  The daughter of Dehere had been runner-up in three consecutive stakes, Churchill’s Goldenrod and Pocahontas, followed by Oaklawn’s Dixie Belle, prior to her one-length score in the Martha Washington.  Decelerator is a versatile sort, but has done her best running from off the pace.

Peter Callahan’s Beautician, a shipper from Florida for trainer Ken McPeek, may be her most serious opposition.  Beautician finished second to champion She Be Wild in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes.  Like Decelerator, Beautician is a daughter of Dehere and likes to do her best running from off the pace.

If he chooses to, Lukas could send out Westrock Stable’s Tidal Pool for the Honeybee.  Tidal Pool opened local eyes with a brilliant one mile allowance win at Oaklawn on February 18, getting the distance in 1:36 2/5, equal to Rachel Alexandra’s winning time in the 2009 Martha Washington Stakes.  Tidal Pool has exceptional speed and could be the kind of late-developer who might come along just in time to win the major races for her division.

Tim Ritchey can be expected to saddle Bean Counter Stables speedy Eve Giselle for the Honeybee and the daughter of Five Star Day has enough speed and quality to go wire-to-wire to victory.  She was with the leaders all the way before falling to second behind Decelerator in the Martha Washington.  She won her previous three starts and may just improve with racing.

On Saturday fans will also enjoy the annual Boat and Truck Giveaway.  One lucky patron will leave with a Tahoe Deckboat from Bradford Marine, along with a pickup truck to take it to the water.  Oaklawn will also be showing the Apple Blossom Invitational prep races for both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta on Saturday afternoon.  Those races will be shown on closed circuit monitors throughout the grandstand as well as on the infield videoboard.  Weather permitting, the infield area will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon.