HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Newgrange remained unbeaten in three starts Saturday, when he forged past the leaders late for a 1 1/2-length win over Barber Road in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.  It was the second Grade 3 win for Newgrange ($5), who came into the Southwest off a victory in the Sham Stakes on Jan. 1 at Santa Anita. He won that race on the front end, but came from a stalking position in the Southwest under regular rider John Velazquez.  “We saw a different dimension today, the way the race set up,” winning trainer Bob Baffert said. “I was very proud of the way he ran. Johnny said he was struggling with the track a little bit, and I could tell that. He’s usually up on the lead.  “All the way down the backside he was in good spot. You never know. He showed real grit coming down the stretch to win that race. It was pretty exciting.”  Kavod jumped out to the lead in the Southwest, setting fractions of 23.07 seconds for the opening quarter, 47.32 for the half-mile, and 1:12.42 for six furlongs, with Newgrange sitting in third. Newgrange advanced three wide around the final turn and went after Kavod, who continued to lead in the stretch. The winner covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:45.83.  :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2022: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “I came out running, trying to be as close as I could going into that first turn, but when we got to that first turn, it seemed like he was not getting a good hold of the track,” Velazquez said in a post-race interview broadcast by Oaklawn. “So, I kind of left him alone to get his feet under him. On the backstretch, I kind of encouraged him a little bit, ‘You gotta get a little bit serious here.’ At the half-mile pole, I got serious with him, ‘C’mon, you got to pick it up.’ And once he got close to the other horses, he got serious and when I got after him at the quarter pole, he responded. It took a little bit for him to get going and get his feet underneath him.”  Ben Diesel finished third, 2 3/4 lengths clear of fourth-place finisher Kavod.  The Southwest offered Kentucky Derby points to the first four finishers, but the 10 that would normally go to the winner were forfeited because Newgrange was ineligible for them as Churchill Downs is not accepting Kentucky Derby entries from Baffert for 2022. Barber Road earned 4 points for second, Ben Diesel got 2, and Kavod received 1.     Newgrange started his career with a maiden special weight win over six furlongs Nov. 28 at Del Mar.  “He’ll come back to California, then we’ll figure out his next move,” Baffert said. “We’ll definitely have one for the Rebel. I don’t know which one.”  The Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Feb. 26 is the next race in Oaklawn’s series for 3-year-olds that concludes with the Grade 1, $1.25 Arkansas Derby on April 2.  :: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now! Newgrange is a son of Violence who races for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm. He has now earned $552,000 after picking up a first-place check of $450,000.   Attendance ontrack was an estimated 27,000 on a sunny, windy afternoon with temperatures in the low 50s. Handle on the 11-race card from all sources was $11.7 million, according to figures from Oaklawn.