Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes; 1 1/16 miles; Oaklawn Park; Jan. 29, 2022
(0 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)
Winner: Newgrange, by Violence
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: John Velazquez
Owner: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, and Jay Schoenfarber
Beyer Speed Figure: 89
David Harrison, a 63-year-old real-estate appraiser from Webster, N.Y., won last weekend’s National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas with a total score of $342, earning $725,000 for the contest’s top prize.
Harrison entered Sunday’s final table at the tournament with a $30.30 lead over the closest of the other nine finalists. Going into the final race, he was still up $16.60, and when an even-money shot drew off in the stretch of the last mandatory race, he knew he couldn’t be caught.
Aqueduct | Race 8 | Post Time 2:18 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up
It was a case of polar opposites for our Pix last week—much too fast and much too slow. Our Aqueduct Pick was fried on the lead which featured a 21-and-change opening quarter and our Santa Anita Pick was much too slow getting out of the gate. Otherwise it was a banner day for BreezeFigs 3-year-old maidens as three of the five maiden races at Fair Grounds went to them.
The biggest North American race of the year until the Kentucky Derby is a match race dressed up as a nine-horse field.
It’s tough settling on a Pegasus World Cup Invitational preference, so I won’t. Having just gotten back from New Orleans where I was fortunate enough to watch Knicks Go train, I can report that at age 6, with a long 2021 campaign behind him, the horse blooms with vitality. Since Brad Cox took over training, Knicks Go is 8 for 8 in two-turn races (four Grade 1’s, two Breeders’ Cup starts) with a 40-length combined margin of victory.
Aqueduct | Race 8 | Post Time 4:20 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up
LOOKIN AT SWEETIE
Trainer: Richard Baltas
Last race: Jan. 21, race 3
Finish: 1st by 2 1/4
Beyer: 74
Maiden-claiming winner tested positive for medication Robaxin before the race was run and may have been ineligible to start. Claim voided; an investigation is underway.
