Fri, 01/17/2025 - 14:38

Banishing steps up off big Beyer in Byerley Turk Stakes

Coady Media
Banishing earned a meet-high 103 Beyer Speed Figure for this allowance win on Dec. 20.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Banishing is the fastest horse to have raced so far this meet at Oaklawn Park based on Beyer Speed Figures, and on Monday he will move up into the overnight stakes ranks for the $145,000 Byerley Turk.

The six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up is the first of 10 new overnight stakes races added to the racing program this season. It drew a field of nine for a special card being run on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Banishing made a splash in his last start Dec. 20, earning a Beyer of 103 for a conditioned allowance win over millionaire Tejano Twist and stakes winner Run Classic. Banishing covered six furlongs in 1:09.55.

“His form speaks for itself,” said trainer David Jacobson, who co-owns Banishing with Lawrence Roman. “That last race was a heck of a performance. You don’t get too many of those, you know. He really surprised us.”

The Beyer that Banishing earned is the top number put up during the meet that opened Dec. 6. The same race also yielded this season’s second-best number to date, a 100 by Tejano Twist.

Banishing is a son of Ghostzapper. The 5-year-old is out of the A.P. Indy mare Dowager.

“He’s a big, good-looking horse, very sound, very professional,” Jacobson said. “And he’s going into the race as good as anyone.”

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Banishing is seeking his third straight win in a streak that began with a second-level allowance win Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs. He will break from post 5 on Monday, under Ricardo Santana Jr.

“There’s some speed in there,” Jacobson said. “He’ll be laying pretty close.”

Jacobson, a New York racing stalwart, is wintering this year at Oaklawn, where he has 26 horses. The barn includes Disco Ball, who will be looking for his seventh straight win Monday when he starts in the seventh race from post 7. It’s a $40,000 starter-allowance sprint.

Last season, Jacobson brought a handful of horses to town to test the waters at Oaklawn.

“I liked what I saw last year and so far it’s been a very successful meet,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll finish up on a really good note.”

Banishing’s rivals include Nasty Habit, who flew in Tuesday from Southern California. He is making his first start since a May win in a first-level allowance at Laurel and will be making his first start for trainer Peter Miller.

“He hasn’t missed any work,” said Miller, who has had the horse for the last few months. “He’s fit and ready to go, and we’re excited to see him run.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and done everything quite easily. We think he’s a horse with a quite a bit of talent and there’s just a lot of opportunity at Oaklawn, and so we decided to put him on the plane.”

Ramon Vazquez has the mount from post 6.

Of a Revolution exits a fourth-place finish in the Ring the Bell Stakes on opening weekend at Oaklawn. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has given the mount to Fernando Jara.

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