Baffert seeks first Smarty Jones win with Mourinho

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has compiled an outstanding record in the 3-year-old stakes series at Oaklawn Park, winning 12 such races since 2010. But there’s one race in the division that has eluded him.

“I’ve never won the Smarty Jones,” he said.

That could change Monday, when Baffert sends out Mourinho in the $150,000 race that carries 17 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. The horse should go favored over six others off his runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Bob Hope at Del Mar in November. Mourinho’s chief rival is Combatant, a closing second in the $400,000 Springboard Mile in December at Remington.

Navistar, who was a sharp maiden winner last out at Gulfstream Park, will miss the Smarty Jones due to travel issues, said John Panagot, racing manager for owner Bob LaPenta. Panagot said multiple flight attempts were thwarted due to winter weather issues in Memphis, where some horses fly into when racing at Oaklawn. Navistar remains in south Florida and his next-race plans are to be determined, with several options to be discussed, Panagot said.

The Smarty Jones could go with a field of five after the defection of Navistar and because another entrant, Lone Rock, ran Saturday at Oaklawn.

The first four finishers will earn Derby points on a scale of 10-4-2-1. The Smarty Jones will be run at a mile and ends at the sixteenth pole. The forecast is for a high of 53 degrees and a 20 percent chance of rain, according to The Weather Channel.

Smarty Jones (Race 8)

KEY CONTENDERS

Mourinho, by Super Saver
Last 3 Beyers: 90-70-86

◗ Baffert – who has won Oaklawn’s Southwest Stakes four times, Rebel Stakes six times, and Arkansas Derby twice – rerouted Mourinho to the Smarty Jones after scratching the horse from the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita. Mourinho will be making his two-turn debut and will have blinkers put back on after racing without them in the seven-furlong Bob Hope.

“We took the blinkers off, trying to get him to relax a little bit, and he was sort of lost,” Baffert said. “He’s better with a little bit of a blinker, especially going two turns. He’s quick. He’s fast. We’ll see if he can stretch his speed out.”

◗ Mourinho won his debut in September at Santa Anita and was flattered when third-place finisher Instilled Regard – who was to run in the Lecomte Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds – came back to win a maiden special weight and was placed second in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity.

◗ Following the maiden win, Mourinho ran second in the $73,000 Speakeasy in October at Santa Anita before making his graded stakes debut in the Bob Hope on Nov. 11. He finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Greyvitos, who in his next start captured the Springboard Mile.

◗ Mourinho is a half-brother to Sandy’s Surprise, the dominant winner of the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks in November. Mourinho, who races for Phoenix Thoroughbred III, will break from post 4 under Drayden Van Dyke.

Combatant, by Scat Daddy
Last 3 Beyers: 84-77-64

◗ He put in a sustained run for second in the Springboard Mile, which Greyvitos won in a stakes-record time of 1:37.14 on Dec. 17. The race was the third career out for Combatant.

“I thought he ran well,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “A nice horse beat him. He needs to move forward, and I think that he will.”

◗ Combatant won a maiden special weight in his second start, a one-turn mile Oct. 29 at Churchill Downs. He is a May foal.

“He’s talented,” Asmussen said. “He’s going to be a good horse. I think he has room to develop physically.”

◗ Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from the rail for Winchell Thoroughbreds and the Arkansas-based Willis Horton Racing.