BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida-bred Octane and jockey Julien Leparoux went head and head with Notary at the top of the stretch before racing clear in the final furlong to win the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap by three-quarters of a length at Oaklawn Park Saturday, becoming the most recent Florida-bred millionaire. It was the fifth career stakes victory, but first against open company, for the 5-year-old Arindel homebred who defeated nine other 4-year-olds and older going a mile-and-a-sixteenth in the $600,000 test.
Octane broke best of all from post three and chased Fifth Season-winner Promise Keeper around the clubhouse turn through a quarter-mile in an honest :23.30. Promise Keep led by a length-and-a-half ahead of Octane down the backstretch and finished the half-mile in :47.33 before showing the way around the far turn.
Octane and Notary shot past Promise Keeper coming out of the turn with Notary putting a head in front as they straightened for home. But Octane fought back on the inside and began to pull away inside the final furlong as Notary drifted out and 2-1 favorite Magic Tap made a late run for second, two-and-a-quarter lengths clear of Notary in third.
Bolzy, O P Firecracker, Escapologist, Speed Bias, U. S. Army, Promise Keeper and Frosted Departure completing the order of finish.
Carrying the co-highweight of 118 pounds, Octane paid $13 to win after finishing in 1:43.57 on the fast track.
Trained by Juan Alvarado, Octane went into the Razorback off a second-place finish to Lure Him in the $95,000 Sunshine Classic for Florida-breds on Jan. 20 and a fifth-place finish after being bumped at the start of the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday won by O’Connor (Chi) on Dec. 30, both at a mile-and-a-sixteenth at Gulfstream Park.
The 5-year-old son of Arindel’s Florida-based stallion Brethren won for the eighth time in 18 starts with four seconds and a third. The $315,000 first-place check increased his earnings to $1,011,355.
His previous black-type victories include the Affirmed and In Reality divisions of the 2021 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes, the 2022 FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Marion County and the Gil Campbell Memorial Handicap in October.
