Bankit looks to do one better in Oaklawn's Essex Handicap

Bankit, a strong second-place finisher last month in Oaklawn Park’s Razorback Handicap (G2), will aim to finish one better over the same track Saturday.

The 4-year-old Steve Asmussen trainee is one of seven older horses entered for Saturday’s $350,000 Essex Handicap. The listed Essex goes 1 1/16 miles over the dirt and is the main prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) on April 18.

Bankit is the top returning runner from the Feb. 17 Razorback, as winner Warrior’s Charge is waiting until the Oaklawn Handicap to race again.

Also entered from the Razorback are third-place finisher Snapper Sinclair, fourth-place Pioneer Spirit, sixth-place Bravazo and ninth-place Guest Suite. The Essex’s other two runners, Laughing Fox and Night Ops, both enter off a Feb. 9 allowance optional claiming race at Oaklawn.

Bankit very nearly earned his first graded victory in the Razorback. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. kept the Central Banker colt in a comfortable spot along the rail until tilting him out three-wide coming off the far turn. 

From there, Bankit pulled alongside the front-running Warrior’s Charge, and those two dueled side-by-side down the stretch. Warrior’s Charge held on to win by a head, with the rest of the field well back of the top two.

A win Saturday would give Bankit his third in a non-graded stakes, and first outside his home state of New York. The Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Willis Horton Racing LLC runner took Belmont Park’s Sleepy Hollow as a 2-year-old and Finger Lakes’ New York Derby last July at 3.

Santana will ride Bankit again in the Essex, which precedes the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) and $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) on Saturday’s Oaklawn card.