Rebel next for Southwest winner Super Steed

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Trainer Larry Jones suspected Super Steed would be double-digit odds for the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn, but he was not prepared for what he saw on the infield tote board walking up for the race with his staff.

“I said, ‘Man, I don’t believe it,’ ” Jones recalled Tuesday.

Super Steed ended up going off at 62-1 in the Southwest, and won the race with a sweeping, four-wide move on the final turn. He paid $126.60.

Just last month, Super Steed had been 6-1 for the $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. He finished seventh, beaten 7 1/4 lengths, in a race Jones considers a toss out. The trainer had run four horses on that same Jan. 25 program and none ran to expectations. Afterward, he spent time going over the card, which was the first of the meet at Oaklawn.

“We went into the Smarty Jones feeling pretty good, but then looking back at the charts the whole day, every horse stayed in their position,” Jones said. “That’s why I called it the merry-go-round races. That’s the way it ran all day. So I didn’t fault any of the four horses.”

For the Southwest, Super Steed had just a few horses beat early, put in his bid under Terry Thompson, and held off Sueno for a three-quarter-length victory for owners Michael Pressley and Steed Jackson. Super Steed covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.05 and equaled his career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 87.

“We kind of got shuffled around a bit, but needless to say, we were in a better spot than some of them,” Jones said of the early stages of the race, noting a number of horses had trouble. “He made a big move on the far turn.”

Super Steed, who picked up 10 points for the Kentucky Derby, is now being pointed for the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on March 16 at Oaklawn.

“We’re here, hopefully, for the series,” Jones said Tuesday. “That’s what we came for. The Rebel would be the next spot we would be targeting, if all goes well. It looks like everything this morning is well."

The other race in the local series is the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 13 and the schedule suits Super Steed, said Jones.

“He got started late. He doesn’t have a world of experience,” Jones said. “I want to run him about once a month. The way they have the series set up here is perfect.”

Jones, in his self-deprecating humor, said the long odds from the Southwest should be a reflection on him and not Super Steed.

“The horse can’t help who he’s having to be connected with,” Jones said of himself. “It's not his fault. I could understand everybody getting off the bandwagon. It’s easy to do, and our meet’s not going well. You’ve got to throw somebody out.

“It’s been 10 years since I won the Southwest. It’s been a long time" -- Jones won with Old Fashioned in 2009 -- "didn’t know if it would ever happen again!”

Apparently -- the odds were 62-1.

Next start uncertain for Sueno

Southwest runner-up Sueno is scheduled to return home to Southern California on Thursday with plans for his next start to be determined, according to trainer Keith Desormeaux.

“We’re going to have fun talking about it,” he said Tuesday.

“It would be nice to come back for $1 million and the Rebel, but I think it’s a little too quick. Maybe we can come back for the Arkansas Derby. When you think about it, it’s all at the mercy of the points system. If you wait to the last race to the Kentucky Derby, you could throw a clunker and mess it up. I don’t know what we’ll do. It’s a good problem to have.”

Desormeaux said he and owner Silverton Hill also are discussing options in Southern California.

Sueno, who now has a total of eight points for the Kentucky Derby, stalked the pace Monday, got caught behind horses on the far turn, then rallied under Corey Lanerie.

“He couldn’t get through, had to wait before Corey could ask him for his best,” Desormeaux said.

“The horse showed some heart. He had a nice gallop-out and it looks like more distance is only going to help. There were lots of encouraging things out of the race.”

Long Range Toddy aimed for Rebel

Long Range Toddy closed for third in the Southwest, beaten just two lengths. The horse, who races for Willis and Glenda Horton, was second in the Smarty Jones and last year won both the $400,000 Springboard Mile and $100,000 Clever Trevor at Remington.

“He is solid,” Asmussen said early Tuesday. “Nobody got a good trip yesterday -- the whole race was just traffic and everything. He was held up around the second turn, but he ran through the wire. He just grinded through the wire.

“He came out of it in good shape and I’d like to proceed to the Rebel with him, obviously. I need to speak with the Hortons. But he ate up last night, is feeling pretty strong this morning.”

Long Range Toddy is based at Oaklawn and has more Kentucky Derby points than any local horse, with 16, according to a chart issued by Churchill Downs.