Warrior's Charge starts season in allowance

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Some of the top horses from trainer Brad Cox’s barn have launched their seasons at Oaklawn Park this meet, and the trend will continue Thursday with Warrior’s Charge.

The multiple graded stakes winner is making his first start since September in the eighth race, a conditioned allowance for 4-year-olds and up worth $107,000. The mile race will end at the sixteenth pole. Guest Suite, Final Jeopardy, and Home Base are the other stakes winners making up the six-horse race, which also drew allowance winners My Sixth Sense and Mailman Money.

Warrior’s Charge is looking to follow the lead of champions Essential Quality and Monomoy Girl, as well as 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, who all won their seasonal debuts for Cox this meet at Oaklawn. Warrior’s Charge’s latest drill for his return came March 19 at Fair Grounds, when he went five-eighths in 1:01.

“He joined our string at Fair Grounds a while ago,”’ Cox said. “He’s been back training very forward. He’s a forward-training horse, gets himself fit quick. This race appeared on the overnight, and we thought it made the most sense as far as a comeback.”

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Warrior’s Charge, who is now 5, made two appearances last year at Oaklawn. He won the Grade 3 Razorback in February and was second in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in May. He would go on to run a close fourth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, then was placed first in the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin at Monmouth after a runner-up finish last August. From there, Warrior’s Charge started in what was a potential Breeders’ Cup prep for him, the Grade 3 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs. He set the pace before finishing eighth, beaten just 3 1/2 lengths in his season finale Sept. 26.

“He ran a good race at Monmouth, and we were looking at the possibility of running him in the Dirt Mile at Keeneland in the Breeders’ Cup, but things didn’t work out the way we were hoping,” Cox said. “With the Ack Ack, he just kind of took a step back. He ran hard that day. I thought it was time to give him a little bit of a freshening.

“He had a really good year.”

Warrior’s Charge is a son of Munnings who races for Ten Strike Racing and Madaket Stables. He will break from post 6 under regular rider Florent Geroux.

“He’s forward,” Cox said. “It’s no secret where he’ll be in the race. Florent knows him well. He’s had the most success on the front end, and we won’t take away what comes natural to him.”

My Sixth Sense is making his first start since September off a close third-place finish in a third-level allowance at Churchill Downs. He set the pace in the 1 1/16-mile race and now moves back to a mile, a distance he won over last March at Oaklawn. Martin Garcia has the mount for HWL Partnership and trainer Steve Hobby.