Razorback or Races in Middle East Next for Ginobili

Following his powerful victory Jan. 14 in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes for older horses Jan. 14 at Oaklawn Park, Ginobili  returned Jan. 17 to his Southern California base to begin preparing for his yet-to-be-determined next start, trainer Peter Miller said.

Miller said Ginobili will be considered for the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 18 at Oaklawn and races this winter and early spring in the Middle East. The Saudi Arabia race would be a sprint, Miller said, a potential race in Dubai would be either a sprint or at a mile.

Ginobili received a 108 Equibase Speed Figure for his four-length victory in the one-mile Fifth Season in 1:37.35 under Ricardo Santana Jr. Following the race, Santana, an eight-time Oaklawn riding champion, said he believed Ginobili was only "75%" fit for the race. The 6-year-old Munnings   gelding was making just his second start in a little more than a year.  

"That's a scary proposition," Miller said. "I hope he's right. We were tickled over how he ran and how he came back. Certainly, the Razorback makes a lot of sense, timing-wise. I imagine there will be one or two new shooters, but I would imagine it's roughly the same bunch."

In his first start for Miller after previously racing for now-suspended trainer Richard Baltas, Ginobili finished second, beaten a head by stablemate Get Her Number , in a Nov. 20 allowance optional claiming sprint at Del Mar. It marked Ginobili's first race in almost a year following a physical setback, Miller said. 

He raced Saturday for owners Slam Dunk Racing, Jerry McClanahan, and Michael Nentwig.

The Fifth Season was by far Ginobili's best race in Arkansas after he was twice unplaced in two allowance optional claiming races in early 2020.

"We think he's a different horse now," Slam Dunk's managing partner, Nick Cosato, said following the Fifth Season. "He's healthy. He had some time off. I think he got a little bit sour when he was here and it wasn't the track itself. It was just the way he was doing. Now, he's in good form, and I mean we saw the real Ginobili today."

The Fifth Season was Ginobili's fourth victory from 17 starts and bumped his career earnings to $561,050. It was his second stakes victory. Ginobili recorded his biggest career victory to date in the $202,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at 7 furlongs in August 2021 at Del Mar. He also ran second in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in November 2021 at Del Mar.

Baltas, a co-owner in Ginobili for much of the gelding's career, purchased him for $35,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Hinkle Farms consignment.