Ax Man fells foes in Sir Barton S.

One race before Justify’s victory in the Preakness S. (G1), Ax Man unleashed his talent with an eye-catching 6 3/4-length tally in the $100,000 Sir Barton S. over a sloppy Pimlico racetrack.

“Oh man, he just skipped over it. End of story,” said jockey Mike Smith, who also rode Justify. “He broke sharp and skipped over it, no problem. He’s exciting.”

Ax Man had never raced over an off track in his three previous starts, but handled the sloppy track beautifully. Up two lengths in the first quarter-mile, the 3-year-old colt got little challenge from his five foes thereafter. His final time for the 1 1/16-miles was 1:42.53.

Ax Man has won three of four lifetime starts and earned $138,000 for owner/breeder Hal & Patti Earnhardt. The colt is a half-brother to Earnhardt’s champion Indian Blessing, who Baffert also trained.