Gray Attempt to target Southwest

Gray Attempt won the $150,000 Smarty Jones wire to wire last week at Oaklawn Park, but it might be a mistake to brand the 3-year-old as one-dimensional. He was stretching out from six furlongs to a mile for a race that ended at the sixteenth pole and he drew the widest gate in circumstances that dictated tactics, trainer Jinks Fires said.

“We had the eight post and if you don’t go on from there, you could wind up getting hung wide all the way around the first turn,” Fires said.

Fires said both he and Shaun Bridgmohan, regular rider of Gray Attempt, believe the horse is versatile.

“We don’t feel like he has to have the lead,” Fires said.

Gray Attempt has won 3 of 4 starts and was making his two-turn debut in the Smarty Jones on Jan. 25. He won a maiden special weight on Nov. 25 at Churchill, then took the six-furlong Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds on Dec. 22 before the Smarty Jones, which he won by a neck with a Beyer Speed Figure of 84.

“He’s an average-size horse who’s still growing,” Fires said. “He’s pretty nicely put together. He’s very athletic. He doesn’t skip a beat when he’s out there. He changes leads when he’s supposed to, does everything right.”

Fires said Gray Attempt would now target the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest going 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 18 at Oaklawn. Bridgmohan would have the mount, he said. Gray Attempt is a son of Graydar who races for Dwight Pruett. He picked up 10 eligibility points for the Kentucky Derby with his win in the Smarty Jones.