Fulsome wins the Oaklawn Mile, adds to big day for Cox, Geroux

Juddmonte Farm Inc.’s Fulsome, winner of last year’s Oaklawn Stakes, returned to Hot Springs for his 4-year-old debut and pulled the mild upset in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3), the first edition as a graded stakes.

Fulsome got shuffled back to last at the break and stayed there while Market Analysis set the early fractions of :22 3/5 and :45 4/5 for the first half mile. Cezanne, the 4-5 favorite, came from third to grab the lead at the top of the stretch, but could not hold off the fast closing winner, who got up in the final jump under Florent Geroux to win by a neck in 1:36 2/5 for a mile over a fast track. Runnin’ Ray was third.

“I think his wheelhouse is when he gets a pace,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “A mile, a mile and sixteenth, I think whenever there’s some pace to run at, he’s going to come running. He’s a very honest horse. He always tries and that’s kind of what I was hoping for coming into this race - we were going to see some pace.

"I think lots of times the mile races here at Oaklawn, you get some pace. They don’t always back up, but they are quick enough. The horses up close were the ones we went by. It didn’t completely fall apart, but he was able to get things set up for him and he made a big run and had his momentum down the lane. He ran big.”

Added Geroux on his winning ride: “Great effort. It set up perfectly. I was far back because I got squeezed really hard leaving the gate. I tapped on the breaks and was able to save ground on both turns. When it was time to go, I just tipped him out and he was able to go by those horses pretty easily at the end.”

Fulsome, an Into Mischief colt making his first start since the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) last September, improved his record to 6-1-1 in 11 starts and has now earned $879,324. He returned $18.80, $5.40 and $3.80.