Razorback Season Debut for Copper Bullet
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Photo: Coady Photography
Copper Bullet schools in the paddock at Oaklawn Park
Copper Bullet will stretch out in his season debut Feb. 18 at Oaklawn Park, where he will take on an evenly matched field of 13 other older horses in the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3).
The 1 1/16-mile test is one of three graded stakes on the Monday card, including two for older horses. It is preceded by the $200,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares.
Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing's 4-year-old Copper Bullet will get a class break off an unplaced effort in the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes (G1) going seven furlongs, where he finished 11th behind winner McKinzie. The added distance will be a first for the Steve Asmussen trainee, who has not run beyond the Malibu distance.
Copper Bullet made his return one start prior to the Malibu after being sidelined with shin issues for more than a year. That Churchill Downs allowance race marked a successful return to racing for the son of More Than Ready who won the seven-furlong test by 3 1/2 lengths over a field of 3-year-olds and older.
In his 2-year-old season, just before the issues were discovered, Copper Bullet won the Saratoga Special Stakes Presented by Coors Light (G2) and prior to that finished second in the Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) at Churchill.
Other prime contenders include the Todd Pletcher-trained Coal Front and the Mark Casse-trained Souper Tapit. Both bring victories into the Razorback.
Coal Front has won five of his seven starts, including a 3 3/4-length score in the Dec. 22 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old Stay Thirsty ridgling won the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) in his stakes debut and took the Gallant Bob Stakes (G3) at Parx Racing after finishing fifth in the H. Allen Jerkens (G1) back at Saratoga Race Course.
Souper Tapit brings two Gulfstream wins into the Razorback, most recently the Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes. He was a grade 3 winner as a 3-year-old but has not competed at the graded level since finishing eighth in the 2017 Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar.
Nanoosh will make his graded stakes debut off a three-race win streak. The 4-year-old Paynter colt won the Zia Park Derby to finish 2018 and in doing so defeated Razorback entrant All Out Blitz as well as graded stakes-placed Combatant, grade 3 winners Limation and Sky Promise, and multiple stakes winner Yulong Warrior.
Nanoosh's previous two wins came at Turf Paradise and Canterbury Park. He broke his maiden at Keeneland as a 2-year-old, but after finishing seventh in a Churchill allowance race, he was not seen again until September 2018, when he began his winning roll. Trained by Robertino Diodoro for Rockingham Ranch, Zayat Stables, and David Bernsen, Nanoosh will get the services of jockey Orlando Mojica.
One race prior to the Razorback, fillies and mares will compete in the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa, where She's a Julie will headline a 10-horse field that includes the likes of Auspicious Babe, Moonlit Garden, and Oklahoma-bred Sydney Freeman.
Although the Asmussen-trained She's a Julie finished 2018 with a fourth in the Zia Park Oaks, the 4-year-old Elusive Quality filly had stepped up her game over the summer. Sandwiched between wins in the Iowa Oaks (G3) and Remington Park Oaks (G3) was a second to Eskimo Kisses in the Alabama Stakes (G1).
Entries: Razorback H. (G3)
Oaklawn Park, Monday, February 18, 2019, Race 8
- Grade III
- 1 1/16m
- Dirt
- $500,000
- 4 yo's & up
- 4:38 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Copper Bullet (KY) |
Jose L. Ortiz | 117 | Steven M. Asmussen | 6/1 |
| 2 | 2Remembering Rita (KY) | Alex Birzer | 115 | Doug L. Anderson | 20/1 |
| 3 | 3Rocking the Boat (KY) |
Ricardo Santana, Jr. | 115 | Dale L. Romans | 20/1 |
| 4 | 4Sonneteer (KY) | Richard E. Eramia | 115 | J. Keith Desormeaux | 12/1 |
| 5 | 5Souper Tapit (FL) | David Cohen | 117 | Mark E. Casse | 9/2 |
| 6 | 6Nun the Less (KY) |
Walter De La Cruz | 114 | Cipriano Contreras | 12/1 |
| 7 | 7Nanoosh (KY) | Orlando Mojica | 115 | Robertino Diodoro | 12/1 |
| 8 | 8Lone Rock (KY) | Alex L. Canchari | 114 | William B. Van Meter | 20/1 |
| 9 | 9Rated R Superstar (KY) | David Cabrera | 114 | Cipriano Contreras | 30/1 |
| 10 | 10All Out Blitz (KY) | Tyler Baze | 115 | Simon Callaghan | 12/1 |
| 11 | 11Tiz He the One (KY) |
Trevor McCarthy | 116 | Jeremiah C. Englehart | 10/1 |
| 12 | 12M G Warrior (KY) | Corey J. Lanerie | 115 | Dallas Stewart | 5/1 |
| 13 | 13Thirstforlife (KY) |
Miguel Mena | 113 | Wesley E. Hawley | 30/1 |
| 14 | 14Coal Front (KY) | John R. Velazquez | 120 | Todd A. Pletcher | 5/2 |
Entries: Bayakoa S. (G3)
Oaklawn Park, Monday, February 18, 2019, Race 7
- Grade III
- 1 1/16m
- Dirt
- $200,000
- 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
- 4:09 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Auspicious Babe (KY) | Edgar Morales | 117 | Dallas Stewart | 15/1 |
| 2 | 2Holiday's Angel (KY) | Jermaine V. Bridgmohan | 117 | Allen Milligan | 30/1 |
| 3 | 3Promise of Spring (KY) | Corey J. Lanerie | 115 | Steve Margolis | 12/1 |
| 4 | 4Dutch Parrot (AR) | David Cohen | 119 | William B. Van Meter | 10/1 |
| 5 | 5Smart Emma (KY) |
Richard E. Eramia | 117 | Daniel C. Peitz | 20/1 |
| 6 | 6She's a Julie (KY) |
Ricardo Santana, Jr. | 119 | Steven M. Asmussen | 9/5 |
| 7 | 7Remedy (KY) |
Florent Geroux | 115 | Brad H. Cox | 4/1 |
| 8 | 8Rose of Malibu (KY) | David Cabrera | 117 | C. R. Trout | 6/1 |
| 9 | 9Sydney Freeman (OK) | Ramon A. Vazquez | 122 | Donnie K. Von Hemel | 12/1 |
| 10 | 10Moonlit Garden (KY) |
Jose L. Ortiz | 119 | Christopher Davis | 4/1 |