Oaklawn winner Warrant scores at Remington

Fulsome and jockey Martin Garcia make their way across the wire to win the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Oaklawn. - Photo courtesy of Coady Photography
Fulsome and jockey Martin Garcia make their way across the wire to win the $300,000 Oaklawn Stakes on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Oaklawn. - Photo courtesy of Coady Photography

The final stakes of the 2021 Oaklawn season is proving a key race.

Fulsome and Warrant, both trained by Brad Cox, finished one-two in the $200,000 Oaklawn Stakes for 3-year-olds May 1 on Oaklawn's meet-ending card. That outcome received little attention on a day that two other Cox trainees (Mandaloun, second, and favorite Essential Quality, fourth) vied in the 147th Kentucky Derby.

Essential Quality has gone on to win the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and Travers in what may become a second championship season for the Tapit colt. The Godolphin Stable homebred has earned $2,880,000 this year, most by a North American-raced horse. Overcoming a sloppy track, Essential Quality pranced home in the Grade 3 Bayakoa at Oaklawn in his seasonal debut Feb. 27.

Not that anyone should feel sorry for Fulsome and Warrant, both of whom have proven more valuable than the proverbial empty stall.

The two colts have combined for four stakes victories since leaving Oaklawn. Warrant scored his first graded triumph in Sunday's Grade 3 $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park. The Constitution colt earlier won the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park and ran second in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer.

Fashionably sired by Into Mischief (a half-brother to the great Beholder), Fulsome has Grade 3 victories in the Smarty Jones at Parx Racing and the Matt Winn at Churchill Downs. Fulsome has five 2021 victories to Warrant's three but Warrant has slightly more earnings, both bankrolling more than $600,000 as 3-year-olds. Fulsome ran fourth in Saturday's Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx, won by Belmont runner-up and Kentucky Derby show horse Hot Rod Charlie.

Warrant gave Cox his third straight Oklahoma Derby win following Shared Sense in 2020 and Owendale in 2019. Trainer Donnie Von Hemel also won the former Remington Park Derby three times, starting with Clever Trevor (1989) in the track's second year of operation.

Cox's three Derby wins came with three different jockeys, Joel Rosario aboard on Sunday after Richard Eramia won last year and Florent Geroux in 2019.

Pressing the pace, Warrant won by 1 3/4 lengths over 20-1 front-runner Flash of Mischief. Third choice in the betting, Warrant clocked nine furlongs in 1:50.76 and paid $8.40 to win, avenging his West Virginia Derby defeat to Oaklawn winner Mr. Wireless (fifth).

Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Super Stock, the 2-1 favorite, finished third after hopping at the break. The Dialed In colt, 16th in the Kentucky Derby, came off a last-out victory in the Ellis Park Derby.

Pauline's Pearl, Oaklawn's Grade 3 Fantasy winner April 3, placed second in the Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks. Two-time Oaklawn stakes-winning filly Will's Secret, owned by Willis Horton of Marshall, ran fourth in Saturday's Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx.

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