Picture: Jessica Morgan/Eclipse Sportswire
For the second time in lower than 10 years, an premature failure has resulted in Corridor of Fame coach Steve Asmussen and proprietor Winchell Thoroughbred’s Center East-bound horse heading to Oak Garden for a Grade 3 $500,000 deal. razorback handicap.
Gunrunner sequel?
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That query, unthinkable a month in the past, will start to be answered by the Billionaire a number of Grade 2 winner Saturday at Oaklawn. magnitude The delayed 4-year-old race will begin at 1 1/16 miles with Razorback, which is geared toward older horses.
The Razorbacks will headline the 11-race card beginning at 1:20 p.m. ET. Estimated publish time for Race 10 Razorbacks is 6:00 PM ET. Climate allowing, the infield seats can be open for the primary time this season.
Magnitude, a present favourite, has not raced since defeating an older horse within the 1 1/8-mile Clark Stakes (G2) held at Churchill Downs on November twenty eighth. The horse was scheduled to make his debut as a 4-year-old horse within the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) on February 14, however as a result of a gentle sickness, his journey to Saudi Arabia was postponed. Asmussen, who rerouted to Oaklawn, is utilizing Razorback in preparation for the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 28 within the United Arab Emirates.
“That is Plan B,” Asmussen mentioned Thursday morning. “We had been scheduled to go to the Saudi Cup. Simply earlier than we had been scheduled to go over there, he got here down with a fever. After all we handled him and he recovered. He has since put in two stable jobs and we’re trying ahead to the beginning of his 12 months.”
Magnitude’s look at Razorback comes almost 9 years after Gun Runner gained the 4-year-old race by a powerful 5 3/4 lengths.
The Razorback was Plan B for Gunrunner as nicely. Gun Runner gained over Clark in his closing begin as a 3-year-old and was scheduled to make his debut within the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park in 2017. Gun Runner missed the race, which was imagined to be a run-up to the Dubai World Cup, as a result of he was stranded on the fairgrounds as a result of an outbreak of equine herpes virus.
Gun Runner completed second on the Dubai World Cup, his solely loss in his 2017 Horse of the 12 months marketing campaign.
Cue Razorback once more.
Requested why Razorback is an efficient match for Magnitude, coach Asmussen mentioned, “I am pleased with Gun Runner’s low season begin as a four-year-old, having gained the Clark Trophy in his final outing.He took a detour as nicely.” “He wasn’t allowed to run in Pegasus that 12 months due to the quarantine on the Fairgrounds. It (Razorback) received his 12 months off to a fantastic begin.”
The fleet-footed New What’s New will make his stakes debut underneath coach Jimmy DiVito after successful two races at Oak Garden this season by a complete of 20 lengths in his earlier outing. New What’s New defeated the maiden horse by 7 1/2 lengths on Dec. 26 in one of many quickest mile races in Oak Garden historical past (1:35.52). New What’s New returned on February fifth, successful the 1 1/16-mile allowance race by 12 1/2 lengths.
Sandman is searching for his first win because the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) ridden by two-time Corridor of Fame coach Mark Casse at Oak Garden final March.
Sandman raced from a good fifth place on February 7 at Oak Garden at a sluggish tempo for 1 1/16 miles. Sandman stalled on the second nook and on the higher stretch, lacked punch within the closing phases, and misplaced by 2 1/4 lengths in his debut race as a 4-year-old and towards older horses. It was a 5-game dropping streak.
Casse mentioned the presence of New What’s New and Magnitude, who gained final 12 months’s Risen Star Stakes (G2) and the Iowa Derby, might present a very good pace-setting for Sandman, who had a sluggish begin on Saturday.
Sandman reunited with Torres, who led the grey stallion Tapit to a one-mile allowance victory at Oaklawn in December 2024. Torres is a two-time Oaklawn Equestrian Champion and has often served as Sandman at Scorching Springs for the previous two seasons.
“He received lower (on the within proper entrance) within the final race,” Kass mentioned of Sandmann. It took him some time to recover from it. I needed to deal with him 4 or 5 days after the race. That is dangerous information. The excellent news is he is been doing very nicely since then. That is a contented horse. The tempo appears affordable. Let’s have a look. I like that publish. Christian is aware of him nicely. We’ll attempt to calm him down and hopefully run away and see if we will get him out of hassle then. ”
Razorback is a serious native prep horse for the $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2), which can be run April 18 at 1 1/8 miles.
| no. | silk | horse/stallion | analysis | Coach/Jockey | Earlier begin / Subsequent begin | M.L. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reap the benefits of this carpet | 6.09 | Stephen M. Asmussen Eric Asmussen | 1st Place (126), 2026 Coach In a single day RS 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 4-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | 1st Place (126), 2026 Coach In a single day RS 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 2 | wooden court docket moon ransom | 5.94 | Cipriano Contreras Abel Cedillo | 2nd (106), 2026 Fifth Season LS 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 15-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | 2nd (106), 2026 Fifth Season LS 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 3 | echo once more gun runner | 6.13 | Norm W. Cass Francisco Arrieta | 4th place (114), OP AlwOC (2/7/26-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 15-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | 4th place (114), OP AlwOC (2/7/26-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 4 | New info Mannings | 0.00 | James P. DiVito Rafael Bejarano | 1st place (122), OP CALL (02/05/2026-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 2-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | 1st place (122), OP CALL (02/05/2026-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 5 | magnitude Not this time | 7.87 | Stephen M. Asmussen Jose L. Ortiz | 2025 Clark Stakes G2 1st (121) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 9-5 | |
| closing race subsequent race | 2025 Clark Stakes G2 1st (121) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 6 | gould’s gold golden cent | 6.77 | Kenneth G. McPeek Emmanuel Esquivel | third place (123) Battery Park S. 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 8-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | third place (123) Battery Park S. 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
| 7 | sandman carpet | 7.70 | Mark E. Cass Cristian A. Torres | fifth place (116), OP AlwOC (2/7/26-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | 5-1 | |
| closing race subsequent race | fifth place (116), OP AlwOC (2/7/26-R4) 2026 Razorback Handicap G3 | |||||
