Oaklawn Park: Strong Mandate, Tapiture meet again in Southwest Stakes

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Last summer at Saratoga, Strong Mandate and Tapiture ran one-two in a maiden special weight sprint. Both have since won major stakes races, and on Monday the pair will meet again in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest.

The 1 1/16-mile race – which drew 12, including the coupled entry of Tanzanite Cat and Paganol – is part of the local 3-year-old series that builds to the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby. The Southwest also is the final 17-point prep race for the Kentucky Derby, with the first four finishers earning preference points for the classic on a scale of 10-4-2-1.

Strong Mandate and Tapiture were both individual betting interests in the second pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager that closed Feb. 8, with Strong Mandate ending up 17-1 and Tapiture 38-1.

The horses first met Aug. 17, when Strong Mandate was a 4 1/2-length maiden winner over the debuting Taptiure. The race was the second start for Strong Mandate, and he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92.

“If you win a maiden race at Saratoga, you can probably go anywhere,” said D. Wayne Lukas, who trains Strong Mandate for Robert Baker and William Mack.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Strong Mandate backed up that performance in the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga one race later, on Sept. 2. He drew out to a 9 3/4-length win, in a what Lukas called a “spectacular effort.” Following a seventh-place finish in the Champagne, Strong Mandate advanced to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Nov. 2. Despite breaking from post 13, he managed a third-place finish, beaten two lengths.

Strong Mandate drew a much-improved post for the Southwest, his first start since the Breeders’ Cup. He will begin from post 8 under Joel Rosario.

“He should be forwardly placed, running in the top half,” Lukas said. “He’s an excellent gate horse.”

Tapiture won his maiden in his last start, when he dominated the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club by 4 1/4 lengths at Churchill Downs on Nov. 30. The race was not his first in a stakes. After his debut, he ran third, beaten just a half-length, in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill on Sept. 7. Steve Asmussen, who trains Tapiture, said he had the confidence to move Tapiture into a stakes as a maiden based on the strength of the August race at Saratoga.

“First time out, he runs with Strong Mandate, who [becomes] a Grade 1 winner before we even run back,” Asmussen said. “Strong Mandate’s race in the Hopeful . . . He’s a nice horse, has a lot of talent, comes from a great family.”

Tapiture also has talent, Asmussen said. The horse will break from the rail, under Ricardo Santana Jr.

“I think he’s a handy horse,” Asmussen said. “He’s very athletic.

“Like any horse coming off the bench in a two-turn race, you hope he runs relaxed, not overly aggressive.”

Louies Flower won his third straight race in the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park in his most recent start Dec. 15.

“I was confident going into the race as far as our chances, but I was really concerned the way the race [might] set up,” said Bret Calhoun, who trains Louies Flower for Wes Melcher. “It looked like a ton of speed. I didn’t know if we could overcome that. We have speed, too. But [jockey] Luis [Quinonez] did a great job settling him in a stalking position. We were able to settle in third and got a dream trip from there.

“This race is a tougher race, a lot more depth. I hope to get the same kind of trip.”

Tanzanite Cat was a front-running winner of the $150,000 Smarty Jones here Jan. 20. He showed composure and professionalism beyond his experience, when he let a rival take the lead from him and did not engage him until called upon. He will break from post 3, under Corey Nakatani.

“He’s got natural speed that just puts him in the race early,” trainer Cody Autrey said. “I think he’ll be forwardly placed like he was in the Smarty Jones. They might inject more pace, [but] he doesn’t have to be on the lead. He’s a well-minded horse.”