Booth emulates his sire Mitole in Count Fleet Sprint H. (G3)

Booth captured the $500,000 Count Fleet H. (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn, a race his sire Mitole won as well during his 4-year-old championship season of 2019.

Booth, as was Mitole, is trained by Steve Asmussen and is owned by William and Corinne Heiligbrodt. Booth has more to accomplish to match his sire’s stellar year, but is off to an excellent start, now with three straight stakes wins and six wins overall in 10 starts.

As he did in his Whitmore S. (G3) win March 15, Booth went straight to the lead in Saturday’s six-furlong contest. He was pressed closely by Anarchist through fast fractions of :21.87 and :44.66. Anarchist kept the pressure on down the stretch, with Booth edging clear late to win by three-quarters of a length over the late-closing Ryvit.

“He ran an incredible race,” Asmussen said afterwards. “He faced a lot of pressure, as you said, at 44 and four with a lot of big horses on his outside. But he proved his quality and his stuff today. This is a very special race with the Heiligbrodt partnership group and being a son of Mitole who had also won this race for us.”

Booth has now earned $761,191. He was purchased by his owners for $225,000 at the 2023 OBS March 2-year-old sale. Bred by Clearsky Farms, Booth is out of stakes winner Sophia’s Song and is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Bright Future and Grade 2 winner Musical Mischief.

Mitole is fourth on the 2025 Third-Crop sire list with over $2.2 million in progeny earnings. One day prior to Booth’s win, Mitole’s 3-year-old daughter Shisospicy took the Limestone S. at Keeneland.