Month: February 2022

On the heels of his second straight Eclipse Award, trainer Brad Cox was shut out with favorite Coach earlier on Saturday's card at Oaklawn in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Handicap. Two races later, Cox rebounded with a gutsy win from trainee Plainsman under his fellow 2021 Eclipse Award winner, jockey Joel Rosario, in the G3 Razorback Handicap.

Shortleaf Stable's 7-year-old son of Flatter dueled nearly the entire length of the 1 1/16-mile contest with Thomas Shelby (7-1), but Plainsman out finished his rival by a head on the wire. Plainsman, favored at 9-5, stopped the clock in 1:43.79 over the fast main track.

Drawing the outside post in the field of eight, Plainsman broke sharply but was beaten to the rail by Thomas Shelby, who broke from the six-hole. The two were a neck apart through fractions of :23.18, :47.78, and 1:12.51, staying several lengths ahead of the rest of the field. Popular Kid encroached on the leaders at one point down the backstretch, but quickly dropped back around the far turn.

Thomas Shelby fought hard along the inside through the length of the stretch, but it was Plainsman and Rosario who managed to get in front by a head at the wire. Popular Kid stayed on for third at 42-1, while Promise Keeper, squeezed back at the break, checked in fourth.

Bred in Kentucky by Joseph Minor, Plainsman is out of the winning Street Sense mare S S Pinafore. A $350,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale, Plainsman has now won three graded stakes and improved his earnings to over $1.2 million.

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Impressive talent Flightline has been sidelined by what has been preliminarily diagnosed as a hock strain in his right hind leg, trainer John Sadler told the Daily Racing Form on Saturday.

The unbeaten 4-year-old son of Tapit had been targeting the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 5, but Sadler said Flightline's gait had appeared “not perfectly normal” this week. X-rays were negative on the right hind leg, Sadler confirmed.

Sadler has “no real timetable” for how long Flightline will be on the sidelines. The colt will remain at Santa Anita pending further diagnosis.

A winner of the G1 Malibu Stakes by 11 ½ lengths on Dec. 26 and his three races to date by a combined margin of 37 ½ lengths, Flightline was a $1 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase. He is owned by Hronis Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Summer Wind Equine, Woodford Racing, and Siena Farm.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Agave Racing Stable, Living The Dream Stables, LLC and Rockin Robin Racing Stables' Miss Bigly (9-2) split rivals in the stretch and stole away to win the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. The 6-year-old daughter of Gemologist earned her first graded stakes win under jockey Ramon Vazquez for trainer Phil D'Amato, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.82 over the fast main track.

“I just thought she got a very patient ride by Ramon Vazquez,” said D'Amato. “I like he was just saving ground there, just waiting for an opportunity. You could tell she was loaded and he got the perfect split in between those two horses at the top of the lane and once she kind of inched in between there, I thought she would have a good chance, and sure enough, enough to hold on. Those were all quality fillies we were running against. I think anyone could win on any given day. My filly, I think she had been making that early move in her last couple, just by circumstance, and today she was able to just relax a little more, wait and conserve with her little late burst, and I think that made the difference.”

Miss Bigly raced patiently in fourth as the Brad Cox-trained pair of Matera and 9-5 favorite Coach raced side by side through early factions of :23 1/5 and :47 4/5 for the first half mile. The winner split rivals midstretch and drew off to win by 1 ¼ lengths over She's All Wolfe, the longest shot in the field at 36-1. Jilted Bride was a head behind in third. The winning time was 1:44 4/5 for 1 1/16 miles over a fast track.

Coach faded to fourth and was followed by Queen Goddess and Matera. Mariah's Princess was scratched.

Bred in Kentucky by SF Bloodstock, Miss Bigly is out of the Citidancer mare Miss Puzzle, making her a half-sister to two-time Grade 1 winner Fashion Plate. Sold for $120,000 as a weanling at the Keeneland November sale in 2016, Miss Bigly returned to the sales ring to bring $20,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale.

She began her career for trainer Keith Desormeaux, breaking her maiden in her eighth career start. She was claimed for $30,000 in January of 2020, winning her next start for Eddie Kenneally and racing once for Michelle Lovell before being shipped out to D'Amato in Southern California. The mare has not been worse than third since Mar. 21, 2021, and earned her first stakes win at Del Mar in August.

Knocking on the door in graded company ever since, Miss Bigly finally broke through in the Bayakoa to improve her overall record to 8-4-8 from 26 starts for earnings of $641,242.

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