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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