Roll On Big Joe rolls again in King Cotton
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE?q=100)
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Roll On Big Joe won his third consecutive stakes race on Sunday when he held off Tejano Twist by a half-length in the $150,000 King Cotton at Oaklawn Park.
It was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third to Wendelssohn.
The race was for 4-year-olds and up over six furlongs. It’s part of the local sprint series that leads to the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.
Roll On Big Joe ($3.40) settled in third under Julien Leparoux, just off Wendelssohn and Bourbon Bash as they dueled through fractions of 22.40 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.70 for the half-mile. Roll On Big Joe traveled three wide on the turn and four wide into the stretch and moved to the lead in the lane. He went on to cover the distance on a fast track in 1:09.44.
“He’s sharp and happy, really happy,” winning trainer Bob Hess Jr. said. “A happy, happy horse.”
Roll On Big Joe began his win streak in the Bet On Sunshine in November at Churchill Downs. A month later he shipped to Oaklawn from his Kentucky base and won the Ring The Bell Stakes in December before returning to town for the King Cotton.
Roll On Big Joe is a son of Prospective who races for Rancho Temescal, Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, White Fence and Hale.
He has now won 10 of 23 starts for earnings of $841,925.
Racing resumes Friday.
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