Mr. Z, Far Right clash in rescheduled Southwest
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The manner in which each of the 11 horses in Sunday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn has handled the race’s six-day delay surely has varied, but there is one constant for handicappers. All the entrants have been stabled on the grounds, negotiating disrupted training schedules brought about by a winter storm that forced the postponement of the Southwest last Monday.
“Everyone had the same situation,” said trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who starts Mr. Z. “Nobody shipped in from Puerto Rico to run. Everyone’s here. Everyone had the same situation to deal with.”
The Southwest is the first major prep for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby. It also offers qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, with the first four finishers earning points on a sliding scale of 10-4-2-1.
The points chasers assembled Sunday are well matched, with Far Right the possible favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Southwest off his win in the $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn.
Others in the field include Hillbilly Royalty, who owns the field’s career-best Beyer Speed Figure, a 93 for an Oaklawn allowance win; Private Prospect, an alumnus of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; and Bold Conquest, making his first start since running third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in October.
Sunday’s forecast is for partly cloudy skies and a high of 43 degrees, according to The Weather Channel.
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Key contenders
Mr. Z (Last 3 Beyers: 85-91-90)
* He’s the most experienced member of the field with nine starts, including five stakes placings, a foundation that should work to his advantage in the delayed Southwest.
“He’s got the most seasoning of any horse in the race, and that might serve him well,” said Lukas, who trains Mr. Z for Zayat Stables. “I’d like to have run last week, but having said that, he’s a tough, hard-knocking horse, and I don’t think the little adjustment will affect him very much.”
* Lukas said he’s maintained Mr. Z through gallops and simply has kept him happy while in a “holding pattern” for the Southwest.
* Mr. Z is getting a rematch with Far Right, behind whom he finished third as the favorite Jan. 19 in the Smarty Jones. Mr. Z veered out sharply in the stretch as Far Right rolled up the rail. Lukas said for the Southwest, he is changing bits with Mr. Z to give jockey Corey Nakatani more control. Mr. Z will break from post 11.
“We’ll play the card we’re dealt,” Lukas said. “One advantage we have is he’s a good gate horse.”
* Mr. Z will tote seven pounds fewer than Far Right under the conditions of the Southwest.
Far Right (Last 3 Beyers: 89-83-76)
* The Smarty Jones was a one-mile race that ended at the sixteenth pole, and for the Southwest, the horses will run to the traditional wire. The added distance of the race and its configuration could be a boon for Far Right.
“The best part of his last race was at the very end,” said Mike Smith, who was aboard Far Right in the Smarty Jones and has the mount in the Southwest. “He was really finishing strong, acting like he wanted every bit of the distance and more. He sort of hit another stride at the very end.”
* Ron Moquett, who trains Far Right for Harry Rosenblum and Robert LaPenta, said the horse has handled the delay into the Southwest.
“He’s doing well, is very happy,” Moquett said. “He’s a cruise-control kind of horse.”
* Far Right will break from post 6.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Far Right. Trainer Ron Moquett is 40-0-4-8 over the past five years in graded stakes. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
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Bold Conquest (Last 3 Beyers: 70-83-72)
* He’s launching his 3-year-old season after missing by a neck in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill in September and closing for third in the Breeders’ Futurity.
“I thought both of his two-turn races were very encouraging,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Bold Conquest for Ackerley Brothers Farm. “We gave him some time, and this looked like a good starting point.”
Bayerd (Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-76)
* Bayerd, the winner of the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park, rallied from farther off the pace than usual when second in the Smarty Jones, finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind Far Right.
“The race didn’t set up as he was used to, and I thought he ran respectable,” Asmussen said.
Phenomenal Phoenix (Last 3 Beyers: 73-73-69)
* He will add blinkers after running second by a length in an Oaklawn allowance route Jan. 19.
“If you watch him run down the lane, he was not doing everything he could do,” said trainer Donnie Von Hemel.
The Truth Or Else (Last 3 Beyers: 64-74-79)
* The third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Champagne, he will get Lasix for the first time for trainer Ken McPeek.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 The Truth Or Else. Trainer Ken McPeek is 14-2-5-2 with a $2.64 ROI over the past five years in dirt route graded stakes following a layoff of between 61 and 180 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 9 Kantune. Trainer Mark Casse is 31-7-3-5 with a $4.20 ROI over the past five years in graded stakes with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan