$150,000 King Cotton Stakes

Heavily favored Roll On Big Joe carried his razor-sharp form into 2026, scoring a half-length victory over Tejano Twist in the $150,000 King Cotton Stakes for older sprinters Sunday afternoon at Oaklawn.

The King Cotton was the fifth career stakes victory and third consecutive for Roll On Big Joe, who was ridden by Julien Leparoux. All five stakes victories have come in the last year, including the $150,000 Ring the Bell Dec. 13 at Oaklawn to conclude his 2025 campaign.

Tejano Twist, a late-running millionaire who won the 2025 King Cotton, finished 1 ½ lengths ahead of third-place finisher and stablemate Wendelssohn. Bourbon Bash and Lips Say Bliss completed the order of finish. Durante, Frost Free, Gold Sweep, and Tough Catch were scratched, reducing the starting field to five.

Roll On Big Joe, on the outside, stalked Wendelssohn and Bourbon Bash through a half-mile in :45.70. Roll On Big Joe grabbed the lead in the midstretch and held Tejano Twist safe in the final yards. The winning time over a fast track was 1:09.44.

Bet down to 3-5, Roll On Big Joe paid $3.40, $2.40, and $2.10. Tejano Twist paid $4 and $2.40. Wendelssohn paid $2.60 to show.

In addition to the Ring the Bell, the well-traveled Roll On Big Joe won the Palos Verdes Stakes (G3) last February at Santa Anita, Kelly’s Landing Stakes (G3) in June at Churchill Downs, and the Bet On Sunshine Stakes on Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Bob Hess Jr., Roll On Big Joe raised his career earnings to $841,925 following his 10^th victory from 23 starts. The 6-year-old gelded son of Prospective was purchased by Southern California-based owner Tim Cohen (Rancho Temescal) for $90,000 at the 2022 OBS June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale. Cohen now races Roll On Big Joe in partnership.

Oaklawn’s stakes series for older sprinters continues with the $250,000 Whitmore (G3) on March 14 and the $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (G3) on April 11.

Racing resumes Friday. First post for the 10-race card is 12:30 p.m. (Central).

King Cotton Quotes

Winning Jockey Julien Leparoux (Roll On Big Joe): “Razor sharp. Actually, he broke a step slower than usually he does. Nothing bad, just kind of not standing properly. He’s a pro. He does whatever you want him to. Just wanted to make sure there was a good enough pace in front, so I pushed him a little bit early on. But then he sat right back and had a nice run at the end.”

Winning Trainer Bob Hess Jr. (Roll On Big Joe): “Big heart. He broke, maybe, a little awkwardly, and maybe wasn’t as keen today. Could have been the layoff and no works for, like, almost 20 days, but he’s got heart. I might need to give him a little extra time for his next race, but we’ll try to make the Count Fleet.”

Winning Co-Owner Tim Cohen (Roll On Big Joe): “It’s awesome. Joe’s doing a great job. Bob, Julien, it’s a great team. Of course, the horse, he’s awesome. We’ll give him a little bit of a break and hopefully be here in April.”