Combatant targets Rebel after runner-up finish in Southwest

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Combatant has been knocking on the door in Kentucky Derby points races since December, and he will get a shot at another such stakes next month at Oaklawn Park, trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday.

Combatant was second in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest at the track Monday, the third straight points race in which he has been the runner-up. He also was second in both the $400,000 Springboard Mile in December at Remington Park and the $150,000 Smarty Jones in January at Oaklawn.

“He’s a bridesmaid again,” Asmussen said Tuesday. “We need a little improvement out of him, but I think there’s some there.

“We’ll point toward the Rebel with him.”

The Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel is March 17 at Oaklawn.

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Combatant has earned a total of 12 points for the Kentucky Derby and on Tuesday ranked 14th on the leader board list put out by Churchill Downs. He is a son of Scat Daddy who races for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing and is a member of Daily Racing Form's Derby Watch top 20.

Asmussen saddled two other starters in the Southwest. Zing Zang was fifth, and Retirement Fund finished in a dead heat for seventh. The race was run on a muddy, sealed track.

“Obviously, we’re a little disappointed,” Asmussen said. “I don’t know if the surface, the conditions, had anything to do with that.”

Asmussen said plans for the horses are being discussed with their owners. Retirement Fund, who races for L and N Racing, will be considered for the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

“We could possibly send Retirement Fund back to the Fair Grounds, where he’s 2 for 2,” Asmussen said.

Zing Zang, owned by Jackpot Ranch, is a candidate for the Oaklawn series, which continues with the Rebel and Arkansas Derby.

“I kind of want to stay the course with him,” Asmussen said of the local series for Zing Zang, who he has said seems suited to Oaklawn.

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The barn’s depth in the 3-year-old ranks was punctuated in the final race Monday, when New York Central won a deep first-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles. The horse battled through the stretch for a neck win over Transgress. For the effort, New York Central, a son of Tapit, earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 83.

“He was very gritty and determined to win,” Asmussen said.

Plans for the horse are now being discussed with the horse’s ownership, WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, and S F Racing.

“Something like the Sunland Derby is a possibility,” Asmussen said.

The Grade 3, $800,000 race is next month at Sunland Park.

Transgress could target a yet-to-be determined points race for the Kentucky Derby, said his trainer, D. Wayne Lukas.