No one can catch Southwestern Heat

The 3-year-old Southwestern Heat almost always has the lead for the first half-mile. But every time he has stepped up to stakes company, he has been got caught.

Not in the $75,000 Sonny Hine at Laurel Park, however.

Breaking cleanly from the gate under jockey Eric Camacho, Southwestern Heat ($20.20) opened up a three-length lead after a quarter-mile in 21.81, increased his margin to seven lengths through a half-mile in 44.63 seconds, and coasted to a 3 1/2-length score over 7-5 favorite Jacob's Run.

A son of Gone West trained by Tim Salzman and owned by Southcoast Stables, Jacob's Run completed the six furlong-race for 3-year-olds in 1:11.36 in winning for the fourth time in 15 starts.

"He was awesome today," Camacho said. "He was ready. He's never been as good as he was today. We've been waiting for this day for a long time. We've been running him in tough stakes and he's been hitting the board every time but coming up short."