Mad House wires Count Fleet Sprint, upsets favored Roll On Big Joe

Mad House may have just changed the sprint division conversation at Oaklawn. The 4-year-old gelding broke sharply, went straight to the front under Paco Lopez and never gave Roll On Big Joe the clear look many expected, turning the 53rd Count Fleet Sprint Handicap into a half-length upset over a favored rival who came in on a three-race winning streak.

The final time was 1:08.93 for six furlongs on a fast track, a sharp number for the $500,000 Grade 3 on Oaklawn’s April 11 Apple Blossom Day card. Mad House carved out an opening quarter in 21.99 seconds and a half in 45.12, then had to answer when Roll On Big Joe launched from the three path on the far turn and into the lane. He answered every call, keeping the lead all the way to the wire and earning $285,000 for owner James Thares and trainer David VanWinkle.

That was the kind of performance that does more than cash a ticket. It forced the rest of the older sprint division to reckon with a horse who did not just inherit an easy pace. He set one against a quality field and still held firm when the pressure arrived. Dreaminblue, well off the pace, closed for third, defending champion Booth ran fourth, and Tejano Twist, a runner who had been chasing this race for years, finished fifth. Maximum Bourbon was scratched, leaving a seven-horse field after the race drew 19 nominations.

The upset also snapped into focus against Oaklawn’s recent history. Steve Asmussen had won the Count Fleet four straight years and seven times overall, and Booth was trying to keep that run alive. Tejano Twist had already made the race a familiar stop, finishing third in 2023, second in 2024 and fifth in 2025. Mad House broke that pattern with authority, even if the official margin was slimmer than the drama suggested.

What makes the result harder to dismiss is how far Mad House has come. Bred in Florida by Jean White, Wavertree Farm and SGVThoroughbreds, LLC, the chestnut son of Vekoma out of Stifled Heiress had been winless in five starts about ten months ago and had last raced March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs. Now he is 6-for-12 with earnings above $603,000 and a graded-stakes profile that keeps growing. If this was more than a pace theft, Oaklawn’s next major sprint spots may have a new horse to beat.