Tax Levied Highweight in Essex Handicap at Oaklawn

After fading in a tough opening assignment for 2021, Tax will try to regroup when he starts in the $500,000 Essex Handicap March 13 at Oaklawn Park.

Tax will be making his first start since tracking just behind the early leaders into the far turn of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park before fading to 10th of 12 in the 1 1/8-mile race won by Knicks Go. 

A winner of three graded stakes, including the 2019 edition of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), Tax has been assigned 120 pounds as the highweight in Saturday's listed stakes. While Tax will end a stretch of 12 straight starts in graded stakes, the lucrative purse has attracted an accomplished group of six other older horses set to challenge the 5-year-old son of Arch. 

Tax is scheduled to have a new rider in Joel Rosario.

Campaigned by R. A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, and Hugh Lynch, Tax will be making just his second start at Oaklawn after finishing fifth in last year's Oaklawn Handicap (G2). That May 2 race featured an especially strong field as the Hot Springs, Ark., track was one of the few open for racing at the time.

After competing without Lasix in the Pegasus, Tax—and the entire field for that matter—will be racing on Lasix Saturday. In his two most recent efforts racing without Lasix, Tax finished 10th in the 2021 Pegasus and ninth in the 2020 edition of that race.

Since this year's Pegasus, Tax has worked four times at Palm Meadows for trainer Danny Gargan, including a half-mile breeze in :48.9 March 5. Tax had been entered in the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) Feb. 27 but was scratched by Gargan.

While the connections of Tax hope he can bounce back, the connections of Silver State hope their 4-year-old Hard Spun  colt can continue his top form as he enters off three straight victories. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Silver State closed out 2020 with allowance level victories at Keeneland and Churchill Downs in October and November. Campaigned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing, Silver State then opened 2021 with a narrow victory over Hunka Burning Love in the Fifth Season Stakes Jan. 23 at Oaklawn.

"(Silver State is) as beautiful as a horse can be," said Asmussen. "For the Winchells and the Hortons to show the patience they did with him last year, they deserve to have a huge 4-year-old campaign with him and we expect it to happen."

Video: Fifth Season S. (BT)

Steve Landers Racing's Night Ops will try to win the Essex a second straight year when the 5-year-old son of Warrior's Reward  starts from the outside in the expected field of seven. A grade 3 winner trained by Brad Cox, Night Ops rallied from fifth to post a clear victory in last year's Essex. He enters off a third-place finish in the Fifth Season.

“I thought it was a good race off the layoff," said Cox. "(Night Ops) had been off a while. I thought he showed up and ran his race. Probably needs a little more ground and maybe a little bit better setup and, hopefully, he’ll come back into form.”

Entries: Essex H.

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 13, 2021, Race 7

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 3:08 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Uphold (IN)	Fernando De La Cruz	113	John Haran	20/1
2	2Harpers First Ride (MD)	David Cohen	119	Robertino Diodoro	4/1
3	3Rated R Superstar (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	114	Federico Villafranco	12/1
4	4Tax (KY)	Joel Rosario	120	Danny Gargan	3/1
5	5Silver State (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Steven M. Asmussen	2/1
6	6Green Light Go (KY)	Francisco Arrieta	116	Jerry Hollendorfer	6/1
7	7Night Ops (KY)	Javier Castellano	118	Brad H. Cox	3/1