Najjaar broke his maiden in impressive fashion this afternoon in the second race at Oaklawn Park, coming from far behind to win a mile and a sixteenth maiden special weight by a neck.
Under a patient ride from Channing Hill, Najjaar settled far off of the early pace set by Double Rah Rah, who rattled off fractions of :23.70 and :48.48 while leading narrowly. Owned by Shadwell Farm and trained by Dan Peitz, Najjaar continued to show no speed whatsoever down the backstretch and around the far turn, sitting perhaps ten or twelve lengths behind the leaders. But nearing the five sixteenths pole, the son of Jazil put in a run that carried him into contention turning for home, although he was still seven or eight lengths from the front.
In the meantime, Gameday News, Followyourdaddy, and Master Rick were all battling for the lead down the homestretch, and it appeared as though they were all going strongly enough to fend off Najjaar's late bid. But Najjaar just kept on coming, and in the final sixteenth of a mile, he wore them all down to score a narrow victory in 1:46.92.
Followyourdaddy finished second over Master Rick. The winner looks like a legitimate contender for the major Oaklawn Kentucky Derby preps, including the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) next month.
-Keelerman
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