Ralph Evans’ and WinStar Farm’s Upstart got his 4-year-old season started in style on Saturday with a one-length victory in the $350,000 Razorback H. (G3) at Oaklawn Park.
Sent away the 5-2 favorite, Upstart relaxed well off the pace early while well off the rail. Sitting in sixth in the clear after six furlongs in 1:12.94, Joe Bravo had no choice but to go five wide on the final bend. Despite the less than ideal trip, Upstart steadily gained ground and was battling with Domain’s Rap for the lead as they came into the stretch.
Those two battled for about a furlong before Upstart began to edge clear to prove clearly the best in field of 10. The final time for the 1 1/16-miles was 1:44.12 on a fast track.
“I’m going to give full credit to the whole (trainer) Rick Violette team for bringing this horse together. When you’re off that long, it’s tough to get a horse ready to run,” Bravo said. “He left there really nicely, relaxed really good the first turn. Probably a little farther back than Rick wanted. But, he was so comfortable and relaxed. I was really happy the way he was going.
“You saw the move he made around the turn. He’s back. He’s a pretty nice horse. He proved it to everybody. I’m just glad he’s a big, happy horse for the rest of the season.”
Upstart’s resume includes wins in the Holy Bull S. (G2) and Funny Cide S., as well as seconds in the Fountain of Youth S. (G1) and Florida Derby (G1). The dark bay son of Flatter is now 4-3-2 in 12 starts and has earned $1,460,280.
