Big names clash in Southwest

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Kentucky Derby trail is starting to heat up, and one sign is that a trio of Hall of Fame trainers – Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, and D. Wayne Lukas – account for seven of the 11 horses entered in the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes on Monday at Oaklawn.

Lukas saddles a pair led by Sporting Chance, the field’s most accomplished member as the winner of the Grade 1 Hopeful. Baffert has the probable favorite in Southern California shipper Mourinho, while Asmussen entered four, including the promising Combatant and Principe Guilherme, who was to scratch to run in the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. All four of those horses are members of Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch top 20.

“I think the Southwest will be one of the pivotal races, even early at this time of year,” Lukas said. “I think it’s becoming a major link in the big picture.”

“This is what sorts out the 3-year-old picture – races like this,” said Asmussen.

The Southwest’s first four finishers will split 17 Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 10-42-1. The 1 1/16-mile race tops a blockbuster card that includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap and an allowance for 3-year-olds that matches runners trained by Asmussen, Baffert and Lukas.

SOUTHWEST STAKES (RACE 9) KEY CONTENDERS

Mourinho, by Super Saver (Last 3 Beyers: 99-90-70)

◗ He won his two-turn debut in last month’s $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn, leading throughout for a 3 1/4-length win over Combatant. Mourinho earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 99 in the mile race, one of the highest for a 3-year-old this year in North America.

“He’s worked really well since the Smarty Jones,” Baffert said. “It looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s going to have to go further. We’ll see how far his speed is going to carry him. That’s all you can do – keep stretching that rubber band.”

◗ The Smarty Jones ended at what is usually the sixteenth pole at Oaklawn, while the Southwest will go to the traditional finish line. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke was aboard for the Smarty Jones and again has the mount on Mourinho.

“He was still running strong at the end,” Baffert said of Mourinho’s race in the Smarty Jones. “He was reaching out, and Drayden was encouraged by his race.”

◗ Mourinho carries top weight of 122 pounds, spotting his rivals from three to seven pounds.

◗ He drew post 4 for owner Phoenix Thoroughbred III.

Combatant, by Scat Daddy (Last 3 Beyers: 94-84-77)

◗ He’s in at only 115 pounds and also figures to benefit from the added ground after a pair of mile starts – the Smarty Jones and the Springboard at Remington. He rallied with good energy to finish second in both races.

“We’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to go further,” Asmussen said.

◗ Combatant also will be running out of his own stall. Asmussen noted the horse had to ship to Fair Grounds after the Springboard when the weather in Arkansas interrupted training leading up to the Smarty Jones.

“It is the first time he’s gotten to stay where he was going to run,” Asmussen said. “From the Smarty Jones to the Southwest, we had a little weather, but nothing that required him to travel. It’s a benefit, not having so much travel.”

◗ Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 10 for owners Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing.

Sporting Chance, by Tiznow (Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-67)

◗ He is making his first start since winning the Hopeful on Sept. 4 at Saratoga and has been flattered in the interim, with two horses he defeated – Free Drop Billy and Firenze Fire – each returning to win a Grade 1 race. Still, the process of developing credentials starts all over at 3, said Lukas.

“He’s a Grade 1 winner – he’s the only Grade 1 winner in the race – but you’ve got to keep proving it,” Lukas said. “In the spring, you can’t take anything for granted. They come out of the woodwork and beat you. You’ve got to prove it over and over.”

◗ Sporting Chance has been working regularly at Oaklawn for his first start in almost six months.

“I think we’re pretty tight,” Lukas said. “It’s a long layoff. There will be a gut check at the top of the stretch for sure.”

◗ Sporting Chance is making his two-turn debut, and Lukas said he’s hopeful the horse will be effective based on his pedigree and efficient stride.

◗ There is rain in the forecast and Sporting Chance won on a wet track in the Hopeful.

◗ Luis Saez has the mount from post 2 for owners Robert Baker and William Mack.

COADY PHOTOGRAPHY Mourinho wins the one-mile Smarty Jones. Can he stretch out another sixteenth on Monday?