Banishing to follow similar local path as last year

Banishing, who is nearing $2 million in earnings following his runner-up finish in the $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn, will likely compete in some of the same local stakes races he did last season in Hot Springs, trainer David Jacobson said.

Banishing, in the Ring the Bell, was making his first start since a troubled 12th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

“He ran a very credible, respectable race going three-quarters and I was very happy,” Jacobson said of the Ring the Bell. “He just got beat by a faster horse on that particular day. I think on any other day it’s a flip of a coin who beats who. I think next time I’d have a heck of a shot at that distance.”

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Banishing also has been effective at distances of up to 1 1/8 miles, which gives him options at Oaklawn. Jacobson said he’s not yet made a determination on the horse’s next start.

“I haven’t even looked at the book,” he said, “but I kind of want to copy the same thing that we did last year, including heading towards that seven-eighths race at Churchill Downs on [Kentucky] Derby Day [the Churchill Downs Stakes]. That seems to be kind of the direction we’re going in. The Razorback, the Oaklawn Mile. I’d like to do that, because I’d rather not ship if I don’t have to, although he’s a great shipper.”

The Razorback is Feb. 28, and the Oaklawn Mile is March 28. Jacobson said a potential next start for Banishing could be the $150,000 Fifth Season at a mile Jan. 30 at Oaklawn.

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