Roll On Big Joe Favored for King Cotton After Ring The Bell

Roll On Big Joe heads a nine-horse field and was installed as the 7-5 program favorite for the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes at Oaklawn Park, a six-furlong test for older horses scheduled for Feb. 8. Trained by Bob Hess Jr., the six-year-old gelding makes his 2026 debut buoyed by a banner 2025 in which he won six of nine starts, including the Dec. 13 Ring the Bell Stakes at Oaklawn.

The numbers underline why Roll On Big Joe draws attention: a career line of 22 starts with a 9-6-1 record and $751,925 in earnings. His 2025 ledger also lists stakes victories in the Palos Verdes Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita in February, the Kelly’s Landing Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in June, and the Bet On Sunshine Stakes at Churchill Downs on Nov. 1. A Florida-bred by Prospective out of Nina’s Gift, he was purchased at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale for $90,000 and was bred by Max Ubide.

Oaklawn’s field includes familiar rivals that give the sprint a competitive edge. Chris Hartman will send out two dangerous runners: Tejano Twist, a millionaire late runner who won last year’s King Cotton and finished third behind Roll On Big Joe in the Ring the Bell, and Wendelssohn, who last March dominated the $145,000 Eclipse Overnight Stakes at Oaklawn by eight lengths and also scored in the Thanksgiving Classic at Fair Grounds two starts ago. Bourbon Bash is also listed as a headline rival in pre-race material, though detailed form for that rival was not provided in the race release.

A scheduling wrinkle followed a winter storm that closed Oaklawn’s training track and prompted the race office to shift programs originally slated for Jan. 30 through Feb. 1; the King Cotton was moved from Feb. 1 to Feb. 8. That disruption matters for connections managing final preparations, and for bettors assessing fitness for horses making seasonal debuts.

Ownership lines in the available material contain a notable discrepancy. Oaklawn’s release lists current ownership as Rancho Temescal LLC, Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, White Fence LLC and Richard Hale Jr., and notes the horse was bought by Tim Cohen’s Rancho Temescal for $90,000 at the 2022 OBS sale. A separate press-release excerpt includes a verbatim comment from Asmussen: "He’s a horse that's run extremely fast races here in the past," Asmussen said. "Brian Coelho and John Bellinger, who own him (as BC Stable), obviously did the right thing with him. Gave him plenty of time, and he came back in training super. Good time for him to be in training here at Oaklawn, where he runs well and the purses are great." Those two ownership references conflict in the materials circulated with the entries.

For Oaklawn and the sprint division, Roll On Big Joe’s start in the King Cotton will be an early barometer of whether last year’s elite sprint form carries into 2026. With a stout résumé at six furlongs, a strong bankroll and a trainer experienced with speed horses, he shapes up as the horse to beat. Post positions, jockey assignments and the official race program will clarify tactics and wagering value, and his run in the King Cotton will help define targets for the sprint stakes calendar ahead.