Desormeaux hopes to double up in Southwest Stakes with Sueno

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Keith Desormeaux will attempt to win the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn for the second year in a row Monday when he sends out Sueno in the points race for the Kentucky Derby.

My Boy Jack captured the Southwest a year ago with authority, closing for a 4 1/2-length win at 8-1.

“That was an exciting day last year,” Desormeaux said. “It was a great stepping-stone for an exciting year, and hopefully Sueno can follow in My Boy Jack’s footsteps.”

Sueno has taken a similar path up to the Southwest. My Boy Jack had run third in the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita one start prior to shipping to Oaklawn, and Sueno finished second in the Sham in his last start Jan. 5. He sat just off the pace and finished a length behind Gunmetal Gray.

“I absolutely loved his last race and feel we’re justified in hitting the road, trying to win a nice race like the Southwest,” said Desormeaux, who trains Sueno for Silverton Hill LLC.

“We do have Derby aspirations, and when you’re based in Southern California, obviously you have to get accustomed to a different track, travel. One reason we took the trip to Oaklawn is to give him experience with traveling, a different surface, different situations. It’s a good learning experience.”

Sueno arrived Thursday aboard a flight from Southern California. He is a son of multiple stakes winner Atreides, who put up triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in his first three starts, all wins at Gulfstream Park in 2014.

Sueno’s dam, Class Above, is a multiple stakes winner, and Sueno became her first stakes winner when he won the $75,000 Gold Rush on Dec. 1 at Golden Gate Fields. Sueno was a $61,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September in 2017 on the advice of bloodstock agent Bob Feld.

“Bob did a great job in selecting this horse,” Desormeaux said. “First-year sire, under the radar, bought for his athletic prowess. He hit the nail on the head.”

Desormeaux said Feld recommended him to Silverton, and Sueno is the first horse he has trained for the Kentucky-based ownership, which raced Blue Grass winner Dominican.

“They’ve branched out to several racing jurisdictions in pursuit of that Derby dream, and I’m very lucky and honored to get their business out here in Southern California,” said Desormeaux.

Sueno drew post 7 for the Southwest when entries were taken Friday. He is part of an 11-horse field and will be ridden by Corey Lanerie. The Southwest goes as the ninth race and is the third and final stakes on a program that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Bayakoa, which drew 10, and the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap, which drew 14, including the Desormeaux trainee Sonneteer.

The Southwest field, from the rail and with riders, is: Gray Attempt, Shaun Bridgmohan; Ninth Street, David Cabrera; Cutting Humor, John Velazquez; Boldor, Ramon Vazquez; Jersey Agenda, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Super Steed, Terry Thompson; Sueno, Corey Lanerie; Six Shooter, Stewart Elliott; Bankit, Jose Ortiz; Long Range Toddy, Richard Eramia; and Olympic Runner, David Cohen.

◗ Desormeaux will start Dancing Belle in Sunday’s fifth race, an optional $16,000 claiming route for fillies and mares that carries first-level allowance conditions. Dancing Belle, who is Grade 2-placed, made the trip with Sueno and Sonneteer.

“She’s on her way to the breeding shed,” Desormeaux said. “She’s very fit, and she’s graded stakes-placed, and we’re hoping she takes to that track the way Sonneteer did. It’s a nice pit stop on her way to Lexington. If she runs an awesome race, then we’ll run her back again. There’s time for that.”