HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Pirate’s Punch has a potent mix of class and speed, and those qualities make him a chief contender in Friday’s featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park. The optional $100,000 claiming route is for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles and figures to produce starters for the Grade 2, $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap, which has been pushed back to May 2. :: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Pirate’s Punch could come under consideration for the Oaklawn Handicap, said trainer Grant Forster, but he added that the first task comes Friday. There are nine in the feature, including Group 1 winner Kurilov, multiple Grade 3 winner Rated R Superstar, stakes winners C Z Rocket, Gato Guapo and Laughing Fox, and Exclamation Point. Pirate’s Punch signaled his intent to be a player in the handicap ranks back in January. He romped by 11 1/2 lengths in a Fair Grounds allowance route in his 4-year-old debut and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 101. Pirate’s Punch came back and ran third to Silver Dust in the Grade 3 Mineshaft in his most recent start, on Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds. “It’s hard to know if he bounced a little,” Forster said. “The track was kind of cuppy that day. It was real windy. He didn’t seem to bound over it like he did the previous race. He prefers a tighter surface. “He kind of ran a lights-out race before, and we talked about skipping [the Mineshaft]. He ran a brave race, ran a real strong second quarter, and got beat a little by a very nice horse. Silver Dust was on top of his game that day.” From there, Pirate’s Punch had been intended for a start in the New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. “He’s done great down here all winter,” Forster said Tuesday. “He had a minor skin irritation on the girth, which is why we missed the New Orleans Classic. He’s doing fantastic, has trained brilliantly.” Pirate’s Punch, who last year ran a close third in the Grade 3 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, will break from post 5 under Tyler Baze. “He has so much speed that we don’t ever want to take that away from him,” Forster said. “He is very rateable if somebody else decides to go. It looks like Lenstar has quite a bit of speed in there.” Pirate’s Punch is a son of Shanghai Bobby and a half-brother to both Girvin, a Grade 1 winner who earned $1.6 million, and Cocked and Loaded, a Grade 3 winner of nearly $500,000. Pirate’s Punch is owned by Gulliver Racing, Craig Drager, and Dan Legan.