Alexander Helios. (Coady Media)
Robert Yates/Oaklawn Park
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Alexander Helios made his stakes debut a winning one. But just barely.
In a thrilling finish, Alexander Helios nipped Banishing by head to capture the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses. First Mission, the 2-1 favorite, was another neck farther back in third.
Ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, Alexander Helios ($18) shadowed front-running Banishing throughout the 1 1/16-miles race. Banishing led by a length through a half-mile in :47.60. The tempo quickened from there – 1:11.42 for 6 furlongs and 1:35.77 for a mile – as Alexander Helios, flanked by Banishing on the inside and First Mission on the outside, ultimately prevailed in a hard-fought battle to the wire.
Alexander Helios covered the distance in a meet-best 1:41.88. The track was fast.
A 5-year-old son of Cairo Prince, Alexander Helios won for the fifth time in 15 starts to raise his earnings to $542,170. Saffie Joseph Jr. trains Alexander Helios for John and Diane Fradkin. Alexander Helios was exiting an allowance victory Jan. 18 at Gulfstream Park.
happy with that. The way that the track’s playing, she ran the race that I thought she could run. I’m happy with that.”
RAZORBACK QUOTES
Winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Alexander Helios): “Honestly, he (trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.) just to ride my race. This horse shows a lot of natural speed. He breaks well and puts himself in the game. With the 2 (Banishing) going to the lead, the way they broke, it was just the right spot for him to be in and he was very happy with it. He’s a very hard-trying horse. He never gives up and showed his tenacity today. He battled all the way to the wire and got the job done.”
Winning trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. via phone (Alexander Helios): “I thought he got it (win photo over Banishing). People were calling and texting, so that made me feel a little more confident. But you want to see the (slow-motion) replay. And once you saw the slow-mo, you were happy. From the quarter-pole, he was going good. But then First Mission was making that run. He’s a good horse and the inside horse (Banishing) is so game. It was a very close finish. Thankfully, we came out on top.”
