If this were the first Saturday in May instead of a potentially snowy February Wednesday, two horses now at Oaklawn Park would be eligible for the Kentucky Derby.
Far Right and Mr. Z have earned enough points to start in the May 2 classic at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Far Right ranks sixth with 22 points and Mr. Z tied for eighth with 14 through a series of prep races that offer points to the top four finishers.
Oaklawn's Grade 3 $300,000 Southwest on Sunday, won by Far Right with Mr. Z third, was the last Derby prep with a 10-4-2-1 points scale. The first two of eight races with a 50-20-10-5 breakdown were held Saturday, International Star winning the Risen Star at Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Itsaknockout the Fountain of Youth at Florida's Gulfstream Park through the disqualification of Upstart.
The next major Derby preps are March 7 with the Gotham at Aqueduct in New York, the Tampa Bay Derby in Florida and the San Felipe at Santa Anita in California. Oaklawn's Grade 2 $750,000 Rebel March 4 offers 50 points to the winner, while the Grade 1 $1 million Arkansas Derby April 11 is one of six preps with a 100-40-20-10 points scale. The Rebel, like the Southwest, is a mile and a sixteenth; the Arkansas Derby is a mile and an eighth.
Far Right, co-owned by Harry Rosenblum (Little Rock) and trained by Fort Smith native Ron Moquett, is 2-for-2 at Oaklawn, also winning the $150,000 Smarty Jones Jan. 19. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith veered Far Right to the rail in midstretch for a three quarter-length Southwest victory over The Truth Or Else.
"Hall of Fame jockeys make average trainers look smart," Moquett said after Far Right's successful first encounter on a wet track (downgraded from "good" to "sloppy" earlier on the card).
Far Right received a 91 Beyer Speed Figure in the Southwest, 2 points higher than in the one-mile Smarty Jones.
Rosenblum, who holds majority interest in the colt that he races with Robert LaPenta, said Far Right likely will skip the Rebel and go straight to the Arkansas Derby. With the Southwest delayed six days because of weather, the Rebel became 20 days off and "that might be too quick" for Far Right, said Rosenblum.
Smith, the Arkansas owner said, has committed to ride Far Right "all the way to Kentucky." A former Oaklawn regular, Smith won the 2005 Kentucky Derby aboard longshot Giacomo and the 2012 Arkansas Derby aboard favorite Bodemeister.
It was reported Tuesday that Mr. Z, trained by Hall of Famer Wayne Lukas, is headed to Fair Grounds for the March 28 Louisiana Derby. Ahmed Zayat owns both American Pharaoh, a multiple Grade 1 winner for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert before sidelined last fall, and Mr. Z and "we're not going to run both of those in the same race," Lukas said Sunday.
American Pharaoh ranks 10th with 14 points for winning Santa Anita's FrontRunner last fall. Zayat also owns El Kabeir, fourth in the Derby standings with 25 points and pointed to Saturday's Grade 2 Gotham.
Running on Lasix for the first time and making his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest, The Truth Or Else encouraged trainer Ken McPeek, whose colt made a strong four-wide move on the final turn under Hall of Famer Calvin Borel and outdueled Mr. Z for second.
The Truth Or Else is tied for 23rd in the Derby standings with 6 points, scoring 4 in the Southwest and 2 for his third-place finish in Belmont Park's Champagne last fall.
"He ought to move up five lengths off this race," McPeek said. "I want to take him to Kentucky (for the Derby) if he can get a few more points in these prep races coming up."
Veteran turf writer Steve Haskin ranks American Pharaoh No. 1 on his weekly "Derby Dozen" for Bloodhorse.com, just ahead of Baffert-trained stablemate Dortmund. Haskin considers No. 12 International Star and Far Right almost equal, saying they "can run on anything and are improving at pretty much the same rate. So, consider (Far Right) basically a baker's dozen No.12."
Haskin said The Truth Or Else is "the first 3-year-old we've seen this year to make a move on the far turn that actually got one excited, reminiscent of Monarchos' breathtaking move in the (2001) Florida Derby."
* J S Bach, originally entered in the Southwest Feb. 13 but rerouted to the Risen Star after the race was delayed, scratched from the Fair Grounds race because of a fever.
Sports on 02/25/2015