The Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap will be the setting of the third matchup between reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty and multiple G1 winner Journalism. Both colts are making their 4-year-old debuts in the 1 ⅛-mile race worth $1.25 million at Oaklawn Park.
They met for the first time in the 2025 Kentucky Derby; Sovereignty defeated the favored Journalism by 1 ½ lengths. The Godolphin homebred opted to skip the Preakness, where Journalism produced a dramatic stretch run for a half-length victory. They met for a second time in the 1 ¼-mile Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, with Sovereignty again getting the better of his rival by three lengths.
And they haven’t seen each other since. Sovereignty went on to win the G2 Jim Dandy and G1 Travers; Journalism won the G1 Haskell and put in strong efforts against older horses in the G1 Pacific Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Journalism might have a slight advantage over Sovereignty on Saturday. The son of Curlin carries four fewer pounds than Sovereignty and enters off a shorter layoff.
The Oaklawn Handicap is the main event at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. It’s supported by the Valley of the Vapors for 3-year-old fillies and the Bathhouse Row for 3-year-olds at 1 ⅛-miles. The latter race’s winner gains a berth to the G1 Preakness at Laurel Park on May 16.
Another automatic Preakness entry will be awarded at Laurel via the Federico Tesio Stakes. The nine-furlong race is one of five stakes that will be contested in Maryland on Saturday.
The other stakes are: the Henry S. Clark for 3-year-olds and older going one mile on turf, the 1 1/16-mile Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies on dirt, the King T. Leatherbury for 3-year-old and older turf sprinters, and the Dahlia for 3-year-old fillies and older going one mile on turf.
Source – Paulick Report
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