Banishing wears down Saudi Crown, caps big day for Jacobson in Oaklawn Mile

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Banishing capped a three-win afternoon for trainer David Jacobson on Saturday, when he battled past Saudi Crown in the stretch to win the Grade 3, $500,000 Oaklawn Mile.

“I haven’t been much better,” Jacobson quipped of the memorable Arkansas Derby Day.

Neither has Banishing.

Banishing began his Oaklawn meet with an allowance win over six furlongs. He then captured an overnight stakes at the same distance and at the time had earned the meet’s top two Beyer Speed Figures. Banishing then stretched out to two turns and missed by a head in the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap.

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From there, Jacobson targeted the Oaklawn Mile and Banishing ($5.20) broke well and sat just off the fractions set by Saudi Crown, a Grade 1 winner of more than $3 million coming off a fifth-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park.

Saudi Crown took the field through an opening quarter in 23.16, a half-mile in 46.01, and six furlongs in 1:09.68 on a track that had been upgraded to "good" two races earlier. Banishing (102 Beyer Speed Figure) and jockey Flavien Prat took after the leader from there, worked to get past him in the stretch, and covered the distance in 1:36.77.

“I think the race today put him definitely at a level nobody really was expecting, to beat a horse like that, to test him head and head,” Jacobson said. “He doesn’t give up. He likes competition. The better he gets, who knows what level he’ll perform at?”

Jacobson plans to give Banishing a shot at Grade 1 company in the Churchill Downs, a $1 million race over seven furlongs on May 3. It’s one of the reasons he shortened the horse up from the 1 1/16 miles distance of the Razorback to the Oaklawn Mile.

Banishing won by a length over Saudi Crown, who was the even money favorite. It was another 9 1/2 lengths back in third to The Wine Steward.

Jacobson races Banishing in partnership with Lawrence Roman.

Jacobson’s other winners on the card were in a pair of optional claiming races, in the fourth with Pharoah’s Heart ($16) and the seventh with Disco Ball ($8).

Banishing is a son of Ghostzapper who has won 7 of 17 stars and earned $778,804. He was winning his first stakes Saturday.

* Earlier on the card, reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna and 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan, both galloped between races. The horses are trained by Kenny McPeek.

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