Race Day makes a statement in Oaklawn Handicap

Race Day easily handled early pressure and won the Oaklawn Handicap going away (Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography) Race Day (Tapit) continued to suggest he might be one of the leading older horses in the country when proving much the best in Saturday’s $600,000 Oaklawn H. (G2). Trading leads with Carve (First Samurai) through splits of :23 and :46 3/5, Race Day edged clear by a half-length after six furlongs in 1:10 2/5. Turning for home, the gray kicked clear to win by 3 3/4 lengths under John Velazquez in a time of 1:47 4/5 for 1 1/8 miles on a fast track. “It worked out perfect. We went a little quicker than I expected to, but we had no choice to be upfront,” Velazquez said. “We got good position going into the first turn and I tried to save enough horse for the run home. He did everything so easy coming to the quarter pole. When I asked him right at the eighth pole he responded. I’m very proud of the way he ran today.”

Owned by Matthew Schera and trained by Todd Pletcher, Race Day paid $4.40 as
the 6-5 favorite in a field of nine.

Carve easily held second by four lengths over Tapiture (Tapit). It was a neck
farther back to Golden Lad (Medaglia d’Oro), who was followed by Street Strategy
(Street Sense), Hard Aces (Hard Spun), For Greater Glory (Afleet Alex),
Russellin (Old Fashioned), and Sammy Mandeville (Rock Hard Ten). Irish You Well
(Broken Vow) was scratched in order to run in the Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland on
Saturday.

Initially trained by Kellyn Gorder, Race Day finished third and second in his
first two starts at Ellis Park last summer. He next broke his maiden at
Keeneland by 4 1/4 lengths in the mud, and completed his tenure with Gorder by
taking a one-mile allowance at Churchill Downs by a head.

Moving to the Pletcher barn at Gulfstream Park, Race Day crushed second-level
allowance rivals by 8 1/2 lengths going a mile in late December, and then
finished a half-length third in the Fred W. Hooper (G3) in his stakes debut
February 7. Last time, Race Day gutted out a neck win over the Oaklawn strip in
the Razorback H. (G3). His record now stands at 8-5-1-2, $610,450.

Bred in Kentucky by James Miller, Race Day was reared by Rebalite (More Than
Ready), who is also the dam of the multiple stakes-placed Banded (Bandini).
Rebalite is herself a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 queen Lite Light (Majestic
Light), the dam of Group 2 winner Saddad (Gone West), Grade 3 winner Nite Light
(Thunder Gulch), and multiple stakes winner Gaily Egret (Storm Cat).

Race Day’s female line traces back to Hall of Famer Searching (War Admiral),
whose descendants include Hall of Famer Affectionately (Swaps), the dam of Horse
of the Year Personality (Hail to Reason); Priceless Gem (Hail to Reason), the
dam of legendary French filly Allez France (*Sea-Bird); and Broodmare of the
Year Glowing Tribute (Hail to Reason).

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