Triple Crown veterans face off in Razorback Handicap

A handful of veterans from past Triple Crown seasons will face off in an exciting edition of the $500,000 Razorback H. (G3) on Presidents’ Day at Oaklawn Park.

Bravazo, runner-up in the 2018 Preakness (G1) behind Triple Crown winner Justify, has drawn the far outside post in a field of 11. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained 5-year-old has held his own against some tough horses through the years, but he’s winless since February 2018 and enters the 1 1/16-mile Razorback off a fifth-place finish in the second division of the 1-mile Fifth Season S. at Oaklawn.

Pioneer Spirit and Bankit, separated by a head when they finished 1-2, respectively, in the Fifth Season, will seek to maintain their advantage over Bravazo while stretching out another sixteenth of a mile. But they figure to face stiff challenges from the Razorback’s other Triple Crown veterans.

The speedy Joevia, who finished third in the 2019 Belmont Stakes (G1), recently returned from a layoff to win a 6 1/2-furlong allowance sprint at Aqueduct. Warrior’s Charge, fourth in the 2019 Preakness, was similarly impressive when he scored by two lengths in a Dec. 18 allowance race at Fair Grounds.

Another logical contender is Math Wizard. The son of Algorithms matured too late to vie for the 2019 Triple Crown, but later sprung a 31-1 upset in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and finished a decent fifth against older rivals in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Originally scheduled to contest the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia, Math Wizard was re-routed to the Razorback after it became clear he wouldn’t qualify for the world’s richest race.

Veteran stakes performers Guest Suite and Snapper Sinclair, who finished 1-2, respectively, in the first division of the Fifth Season, add more depth to the Razorback field. They’ll be joined by Rated R Superstar, winner of the 2019 Essex H. at Oaklawn; the long-winded Campaign, who nabbed the Cougar II H. (G3) and Tokyo City (G3) in California last year; and Exulting, who prevailed in the 2019 Oaklawn Mile S.

Earlier in the afternoon, a half-dozen fillies and mares will travel 1 1/16 miles in the $200,000 Bayakoa (G3). Five of them have won or placed at the graded-stakes level, yet it’s the relatively inexperienced Whoa Nellie—racing for Fox Hill Farms and trainer Larry Jones—who figures to start as the favorite.

Whoa Nellie was impressive in the 1-mile Pippin S. at Oaklawn last month, when she surged from the back of the pack to score by 4 1/2 lengths over next-out stakes winner Special Relativity.

Locust Grove (G3) winner Go Google Yourself, Remington Park Oaks runner-up Gold Standard, and Zia Park Oaks winner Motion Emotion will join Pippin runners Cairenn and Lady Suebee to challenge Whoa Nellie, but the Jones trainee has trained sharply and looks tough to beat.

The Bayakoa is the sixth race of the afternoon, while the Razorback is the eighth event on the card. Racing kicks off at 1:35 p.m. ET.