Unraced since a seventh-place finish in the June 11 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), Barber Road swings back into action Dec. 17 at Oaklawn Park in a $104,000 allowance, the day's eighth race.
The 3-year-old gray son of Race Day, owned by William Simon's WSS Racing and trained by John Ortiz, also ran sixth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) at Churchill Downs. He qualified for the Derby with four in-the-money stakes finishes at Oaklawn early in the year.
He ran second three times at the Arkansas oval—in the Smarty Jones Stakes, the Southwest Stakes (G3), and the Arkansas Derby (G1)—and also was third in the Rebel Stakes (G2).
Ricardo Santana Jr., who rode him in the Southwest, is aboard the likely favorite from post 1 in the 1 1/16-mile allowance race in which U S Navy Cross, Winterwood, and Disc Jockey are other leading contenders. Barber Road resumed breezing in October and has worked three times at Oaklawn leading up to his return.
Ortiz said last month that Barber Road had filled out an immature frame during his time on the sidelines.
With the colt still having all of his allowance eligibility, Ortiz opted to run him in Saturday's easier eighth race than in the $200,000 Tinsel Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race that goes as the ninth on the program.
"The horse is a little bit short to go a mile and an eighth," Ortiz said. "I think it's definitely a softer spot, the allowance."
