Fresh off a career-best win over White Abarrio in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking is set to return as the headline act in the $500,000 Essex Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park March 21. The 7-year-old son of Exaggerator was originally slated for the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap (G1), but an incident while loading onto the plane to Southern California led to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. scratching the horse from that event. He will face seven rivals in the 1 1/8-mile race, where he will carry the top weight of 124 pounds.
Among his competition will be Spendthrift Farm and Repole Stable's rapidly improving Accelerize. The lightly raced son of Omaha Beach enters the race off a game second-place effort, finishing a head behind 2025 Dubai World Cup (G1) victor Hit Show in the Mineshaft Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Tristar Farm's New York hero Doc Sullivan will venture outside the Empire State for just the second time in his four-year career to the Hot Springs, Ark., track, where he has been training for the past month. He has made one start in 2026, finishing second to the grade 1-placed Be You in the Feb. 6 Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of Solomini has never won at distances beyond 1 mile, so he will have to be at his best Saturday when facing a group of graded stakes performers.
Mackman, Duke of Duval, Gould's Gold, Runaway Again, and San Siro round out the field.
Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 21, 2026, Race 9Entries: Essex H. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Mackman (KY) Abel Cedillo 117 Matt A. Shirer 10/1 2 2Duke of Duval (KY) Erik Asmussen 117 Steven M. Asmussen 15/1 3 3Gould's Gold (KY) Emmanuel Esquivel 117 Kenneth G. McPeek 12/1 4 4Runaway Again (ON) Rafael Bejarano 116 David Jacobson 15/1 5 5Skippylongstocking (KY) Micah J. Husbands 124 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 4/5 6 6Accelerize (KY) Cristian A. Torres 118 Todd A. Pletcher 9/2 7 7Doc Sullivan (NY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 115 John Alexander Ortiz 8/1 8 8San Siro (KY) Ramon A. Vazquez 117 Brendan P. Walsh 6/1
