King Russell gets back to best distance in salty allowance
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – King Russell, who starts as a leading contender in Thursday’s featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park, may or may not have been part of the inspiration for the naming of Speed King, trainer Ron Moquett mused after Speed King won the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes here Saturday.
Moquett trains both King Russell, the runner-up in the 2023 Arkansas Derby, and Speed King. The latter is blazing a path toward that race for owner Ted Bowman, who named the horse after purchasing him as a 2-year-old in April. Moquett’s barn also includes the stakes quality runner Speed Bias and last year when the yet-to-be-named Speed King joined his barn he was placed in a stall located right in between Speed Bias and King Russell.
“All of the sudden his name comes up to be Speed King,” Moquett said. “I was like, ‘Man, that’s a clerical nightmare because I’ve got King Russell on one side and Speed Bias on the other and now in the middle is Speed King.’
“Ted swears it had nothing to do with that. We all think that it can’t be that big of a coincidence,” quipped Moquett.
Bowman has been a beloved owner in the Moquett stable for 19 years. He’s also a fan of gray horses, which is the same coloring as Speed King and King Russell.
King Russell is moving back to the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Arkansas Derby for Thursday’s feature, an entry-level allowance for 4-year-olds and up.
The field of nine includes Bedard, who was third in the Prince of Wales, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, last September at Fort Erie. In another tie to Canadian racing, Thursday’s eighth also drew Moneyshot, the runner-up in last year’s Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at this distance at Hastings Park.
King Russell, who is owned by the Estate of Brereton Jones and Naber Racing, is picking up more ground off a series of starts at 1 1/16 miles. He will break from post 6 under Ricardo Santana Jr.
“We hope that he gets a good trip,” Moquett said of the closer. “I think he’ll run very, very well.
“He’s got a big long stride without a ton of kick. He kind of just keeps coming, so a mile and an eighth is a lot better for him than a mile and a sixteenth.”
Bedard won a maiden special weight at Keeneland one start after the Prince of Wales and has been flattered with two runners he defeated coming back to win maiden special weight races in their next starts at Churchill Downs and Woodbine.
Cristian Torres has the mount from the rail for trainer Brad Cox.
Daily Grind, a $1.3 million son of Medaglia d’Oro, is moving back to the distance of his maiden win. Mischelof is a Chilean-bred son of Into Mischief making his first start at Oaklawn after being based in Southern California.
The card Thursday is a makeup program after a snowstorm led to a lost weekend of racing at Oaklawn earlier in January.
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