Lukas has promising pair for Southwest

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has a pair of 3-year-olds targeting the Southwest in Warrior’s Club and Dilettante. Warrior’s Club won the Spendthrift Farm Stallion Stakes in October at Churchill Downs, while Dilettante popped a Beyer Speed Figure of 88 for a recent maiden special weight route win at Oaklawn.

Warrior’s Club enters the Southwest off a fourth-place finish in the $150,000 Smarty Jones on Jan. 16 at Oaklawn. He was racing on a wet track for the first time.

“I thought that he struggled a little bit with the racetrack,” Lukas said. “That surprised me because in the morning, he’s so glib and he gets over the ground so well. He really knows where every foot is. But, for whatever reason that day, I thought he was nodding and not getting a hold of the track. So, we’ll give him another chance.”

Lukas said he has a good deal of respect for Smarty Jones winner Uncontested, noting that Warrior’s Club finished in front of that horse on a dry track when they were third and fourth in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Chris Landeros has the mount on Warrior’s Club, Lukas said.

Dilettante is a son of Unbridled’s Song and his dam, Royal Ancestry, is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Awesome Humor.

“I think he’s a really talented horse,” Lukas said. “I love the way his last race came. He’s had some trips that were questionable, where he was blocked and everything, but he finally had a smooth trip and he showed up. I’m very optimistic for him. That horse is getting good. He’s a factor.”

Lukas said Florent Geroux has the mount on Dilettante for owner Calumet Farm.