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Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) will make his 4-year-old debut and first start since being named 2021's champion male sprinter at the Eclipse Awards as the highweight in Saturday's GIII Count Fleet H. at Oaklawn.

Starting his career perfect in four starts, including convincing wins in the GI Runhappy Hopeful S. and GI Champagne S., the $95,000 Keeneland September buy suffered his first two losses in his only two-turn attempts to date, running fourth at 9-10 in the GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile and third in last February's local GIII Southwest S. The Steve Asmussen trainee has been kept around one turn since then, going four-for-six the rest of 2021, rattling off consecutive dazzling scores in the GII Amsterdam S., GI Woody Stephens S. and GII Gallant Bob S. That was enough to make him the biggest favorite of Breeders' Cup weekend at 1-2 in the Qatar Racing Sprint, but the bay was burned up on a quick pace and weakened in the final furlong to finish a disappointing sixth.

Jackie's Warrior returns with a sharp-looking worktab at Fair Ground and over this track, most notably going a bullet five furlongs from the gate at Oaklawn in :59 2/5 (1/45) Apr. 3.

The champ will likely have his hands full with an emerging Hot Springs talent, however, particularly if the fractions are swift. Michael and Patricia Feeney and Jennifer Grayson Taylor's Bob's Edge (Competitive Edge) won four of his first 11 starts from ages two to three, but failed to threaten in three stakes tries before having the proverbial lightbulb go on this winter. Debuting as a 4-year-old in the King Cotton S. here Jan. 29, the gelding blew to the front all the way from seventh just inside the quarter pole and kicked clear to a 2 3/4-length success, earning a career-best 97 Beyer. The Larry Jones pupil showed that was no fluke when passing every rival to repeat in the GIII Whitmore S. Mar. 19.

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Hidden Scroll emerged in good order physically from his Jan. 24 victory at Oaklawn, trainer Brad Cox said, and is galloping daily in preparation for his yet-to-be determined next start.

The third-level allowance sprint for older horses marked Hidden Scroll's first start for Cox and owner Marc Detampel, who purchased the 5-year-old son of Hard Spun for $525,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Offered as a racing or stallion prospect, Hidden Scroll had previously been campaigned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and the colt's breeder, famed Juddmonte Farms. Hidden Scroll's flashes of brilliance – front-running blowout victories at Gulfstream Park by 14 and 12 ½ lengths – have been overshadowed by flops in the 2019 Grade 1 Florida Derby (he was the 9-5 favorite) and 2020 Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes and pre-race gate antics.

Hidden Scroll was making his first start since finishing a weakening fifth in a 1-mile allowance race on the turf Aug. 1 at Saratoga. He showed a different dimension in his return to Oaklawn, coming from just off the pace to win by 2 ¼ lengths under Florent Geroux as the 1-2 favorite. Hidden Scroll, hand-ridden to the wire, completed 6 furlongs over a muddy surface in 1:10.69 after having to steady early on the turn and being caught four-wide at the top of stretch.

“It was the logical spot on the comeback trail,” Cox said. “I thought it was a little bit of a rough trip, not rough trip, but he kind of had to overcome some things. When he's won in the past, he's just kind of broke and showed the way and didn't really pass anyone or overcome any obstacles or adversity in the race. That was encouraging.”

Hidden Scroll finished seventh in the $350,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) for older sprinters last April at Oaklawn. Cox said the goal is to get Hidden Scroll back to races like the $500,000 Count Fleet (G3) April 10, but added there's no rush to get there. Hidden Scroll's Jan. 24 victory marked his first outside Gulfstream Park.

“He came out of it in good order, but we're going to give him plenty of time to recover,” Cox said. “He seems like a horse that does like to run well fresh. We're really in no hurry with him. They paid a good bit of money for him, so we're going to have to plot out a plan throughout the year and, hopefully, ultimately try to win some graded stakes with him. But we've got a little ways to go before we start running in graded stakes again.”

Hidden Scroll has a 3-0-1 mark from 10 lifetime starts and earnings of $155,007.

Cox, Oaklawn's third-leading trainer last year, was recently named an Eclipse Award winner as the country's outstanding trainer of 2020. According to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization, Cox entered Thursday with 1,496 career North American victories, including 213 at Oaklawn.

Hidden Scroll was among eight victories for Cox this year at Oaklawn through Jan. 31, Day 6 of the scheduled 57-day meeting. Cox entered Thursday No. 2 in the Oaklawn standings.

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