Cox's Much-Traveled Plainsman Tops Field of 8 in Essex

It's been a long, strange ride for the much-traveled Plainsman   en route to becoming a grade 1-placed runner.

The 7-year-old Flatter   horse has already raced 28 times through six seasons of racing and has called several barns home.

He started his racing career for Shortleaf Stable with trainer William VanMeter at  2. Then he moved to Brad Cox's barn at 3 and spent his 4-year-old season with trainer Shug McGaughey before taking up residence with Shug's son, Reeve, for the start of his 5-year-old campaign.

Now he's back with Cox and after all those races and movements is running better than ever.

"He's always been a good horse. People forget he won the Discovery (G3) for us at 3," said Cox, who resumed training Plainsman in the fall of 2020. It was a long time until his next graded stakes win (the 2021 Ack Ack Stakes, G3) but he's a very good horse. He's battled feet issues whenever I've had him, but he's a cool horse. He's a trooper, He brings it every time he runs and right now he's as good as he's ever been. That may sound strange to say with him being 7 and having as many miles on him as he has, but that seems to be the case."

The 7-year-old's mettle promises to be tested once again March 19 when he returns in the 1 1/16-mile $500,000 Essex Handicap (G3) on Whitmore Day at Oaklawn Park, seeking back-to-back graded stakes wins at the Hot Springs, Ark., track. After ending his 6-year-old season with what Cox termed a "tremendous race" when third in the Cigar Mile Handicap Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack, the son of the Street Sense   mare S S Pinafore opened 2022 with a neck victory overt Essex rival Thomas Shelby  in the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn.

"It was a big run for him from the outside post in the Razorback," said Cox, whose horse has three wins and two seconds in 10 Oaklawn starts. "He'll need to run better Saturday, but he's had two good works since then and appears to be as good, if not better, than he was for the Razorback."

Bred by Joseph Minor in Kentucky and bought for $350,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Plainsman, a half brother to grade 3-placed Liam  (Liam's Map  ), has earned $1,203,207. Saturday's 122-pound highweight and 5-2 morning-line favorite has been no worse than third in his last eight starts, all for Cox.

Cox will also start Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables' 6-year-old Warrior's Charge  (7-2), who is exiting a 9 3/4-length score in a Jan. 28 Oaklawn allowance optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles

"He likes Oaklawn," Cox said about the winner of four of 10 Oaklawn starts, including the 2020 Razorback. "He's had some trouble getting to the winner's circle lately but he broke through with a big number last time in beating some good horses. We've learned that he doesn't have to have the lead and there's some speed in the race so hopefully he'll get a good set up."

The Munnings   horse out of the Broken Vow  mare Battling Brook will be seeking his first stakes win since August 2020 in the Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3) at Monmouth Park.

He was bred in Florida by Al Shaquab Racing and has earned $1,116,890.

M and M Racing's Thomas Shelby (7-2) set the early pace in the 1 1/16-mile Razorback and figures to be in a similar position Saturday while breaking from the rail. The Curlin gelding who has risen from starter races to grade 3-placed status for trainer Robertino Diodoro showed determination in battling Plainsman through the final furlong before losing by a neck.

"As hard as (Thomas Shelby)  ran last time, and the way he keeps getting better and better at it—it's not like he's 3 years old—and gives 110% effort, he's definitely a horse that deserves a nice stakes win, that's for sure," said Diodoro. 

The field of eight also includes Popular Kid  (6-1) and Rated R Superstar  (8-1), who were third and fifth, respectively, in the Razorback, and Hanalei's Houdini  (10-1) who missed by a neck during a troubled trip in the Jennings Stakes at Laurel Park.

Whitmore Stakes Helps Celebrate Whitmore Day

Normally sprint stakes get overshadowed by the longer and richer distances races on the card, but that was not the case at Oaklawn the last few years.

The beloved champion sprinter Whitmore dominated those sprint stakes for the better part of the last five years, and though the gelding is now retired, his popularity at Oaklawn will be celebrated Saturday with Whitmore Day and the first edition of the $200,000 Whitmore Stakes (G3).

Formerly the Hot Springs Stakes, which Whitmore won four times among his seven stakes wins at Oaklawn, is fittingly a six-furlong stakes which attracted a field of nine.

Michael and Patricia Freeny and Jennifer Grayson Taylor's Bob's Edge  is the 5-2 morning line choice in a field of nine.

The son of Competitive Edge   trained by Larry Jones is coming off a 2 3/4-length victory in the King Cotton Stakes at Oaklawn. 

Bob's Edge tuned up for the Whitmore with a five-furlong bullet work in :59.40 March 14. 

"He's doing really good and he worked really well the day before yesterday," said Jones on Wednesday morning. "Blew out real nicely. He likes a little time between his races, so this is a good spacing from the King Cotton to now. That will suit him well."

The field also includes David Ingordo's Tulane Tryst  (9-2), an impressive allowance optional claiming winner for trainer Cherie DeVaux, and WSS Racing and 4 G Racing's Hollis  (3-1), who rebounded from a fifth in the King Cotton to take an allowance optional claimer for trainer John Ortiz.

"(Hollis has) not disappointed me before at six furlongs," said Ortiz. "He just has to have a certain trip and I think we drew the perfect post for that perfect trip. Being on the far outside actually, I think, will help me cover the six furlongs better than being on the inside, if that makes any sense. There's no pressure on the horse. We can let Hollis kind of come out of the gate, let him pick and choose his targets, and take over when he needs to take over."

Entries: Whitmore S. (G3)

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 19, 2022, Race 7

• Grade III
• 6f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:04 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1No Shirt No Shoes (KY)	Martin Garcia	121	Doug L. Anderson	12/1
2	2Bob's Edge (KY)	Luis S. Quinonez	124	J. Larry Jones	5/2
3	3Greeley and Ben (KY)	David Cabrera	119	Karl Broberg	9/2
4	4Kneedeepinsnow (KY)	Ramon A. Vazquez	121	Michael J. Maker	8/1
5	5Atoka (KY)	Luis Contreras	121	D. Wayne Lukas	10/1
6	6Royal Daaher (FL)	Francisco Arrieta	121	James P. DiVito	10/1
7	7Tulane Tryst (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	121	Cherie DeVaux	9/2
8	8Heart Rhythm (KY)	Geovanni Franco	121	Trisha Vance Duncan	15/1
9	9Hollis (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	121	John Alexander Ortiz	3/1

Entries: Essex H. (G3)

Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 19, 2022, Race 9

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:10 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Thomas Shelby (KY)	David Cohen	118	Robertino Diodoro	7/2
2	2Title Ready (KY)	Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.	117	Dallas Stewart	12/1
3	3Warrior's Charge (FL)	Florent Geroux	119	Brad H. Cox	7/2
4	4Plainsman (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Brad H. Cox	2/1
5	5Popular Kid (CA)	Francisco Arrieta	116	Shawn H. Davis	6/1
6	6Rated R Superstar (KY)	David Cabrera	118	Federico Villafranco	8/1
7	7Beau Luminarie (KY)	Ricardo Santana, Jr.	118	Rodolphe Brisset	8/1
8	8Hanalei's Houdini (MD)	Ramon A. Vazquez	117	Michael J. Maker	10/1