OAKLAWN PARK PRESS RELEASE
A field of nine, headed by 7-5 program favorite Florida-bred Roll On Big Joe, is entered in the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes for older horses at six furlongs Sunday at Oaklawn.
Roll On Big Joe will be making his 2026 debut after completing a stellar 2025 campaign with a victory in the $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes at six furlongs Dec. 13 at Oaklawn. The six-year-old gelding won six of nine starts last year, including the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes in February at Santa Anita, the Grade 3 Kelly’s Landing Stakes in June at Churchill Downs and the Bet On Sunshine Stakes Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs.
Roll On Big Joe, a son of Prospective, has bankrolled $751,925 off a 9-6-1 record from 22 lifetime starts. Southern California-based owner Tim Cohen (Rancho Temescal) purchased Roll On Big Joe for $90,000 at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale out of Gayle Woods’ consignment. In addition to Cohen’s Rancho Temescal LLC, current owners include Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, White Fence LLC and Richard Hale, Jr.
Roll On Big Joe is out of Nina’s Gift, by Victory Gallop and was bred in Florida by Max Ubide, who trained the winning mare for Nina Ubide. Nina’s Gift has six foals, with five winners from as many starters.
“He’s a pretty cool horse,” trainer Bob Hess Jr said. “Excuses are losers, but he did have a few legitimate excuses for getting beat a couple of times that weren’t really apparent. But I think I’m learning as we go along and I think he’ll be better for it.”
Bourbon Bash, the early 3-1 second choice, returned from a lengthy layoff to capture the six-furlong $135,000 Commodore Overnight Stakes for older horses Jan. 3 at Oaklawn. The six-year-old gelding was making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen after previously being with Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas before his death in June.
“He’s a horse that’s run extremely fast races here in the past,” Asmussen said. “Brian Coelho and John Bellinger, who own him, obviously did the right thing with him. Gave him plenty of time and he came back in training super. Good time for him to be in training here at Oaklawn, where he runs well and the purses are great.”
Millionaire late runner Tejano Twist won the 2025 King Cotton for trainer Chris Hartman, who also sends out Wendelssohn. Tejano Twist ran third behind Roll On Big Joe in the Ring the Bell. Wendelssohn was a powerful eight-length winner of the $145,000 Eclipse Overnight Stakes for older horses at six furlongs last March at Oaklawn.
Lips Say Bliss, Gold Sweep, Wendelssohn, Bourbon Bash, Tejano Twist, Frost Free, Tough Catch and Durante complete the lineup. Probable post time for the King Cotton, the eighth of 10 races, is 3:27 p.m. (Central).
The King Cotton was originally scheduled to be run Feb. 1, but Oaklawn moved its Jan. 30, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 programs to this week following a winter storm late last month that closed the track for training for nine days. The King Cotton is a major local prep for the six-furlong $500,000 Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for older horses April 11.
Tammy A. Gantt contributed to this report.
Return to the February 7 issue of Wire to Wire
