Sueno in town for Southwest

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Keith Desormeaux will attempt to win the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn for the second year in a row Monday when he sends out Sueno in the points race for the Kentucky Derby.

My Boy Jack captured the Southwest a year ago with authority, closing for a 4 1/2length win at 8-1.

“That was an exciting day last year,” Desormeaux said. “It was a great stepping-stone for an exciting year, and hopefully Sueno can follow in My Boy Jack’s footsteps.”

Sueno has taken a similar path up to the Southwest. My Boy Jack had run third in the Grade 3 Sham at Santa Anita one start prior to shipping to Oaklawn, and Sueno finished second in the Sham in his last start Jan. 5. He sat just off the pace and finished a length behind Gunmetal Gray.

“I absolutely loved his last race and feel we’re justified in hitting the road, trying to win a nice race like the Southwest,” said Desormeaux, who trains Sueno for Silverton Hill LLC.

“We do have Derby aspirations, and when you’re based in Southern California, obviously you have to get accustomed to a different track, travel. One reason we took the trip to Oaklawn is to give him experience with traveling, a different surface, different situations. It’s a good learning experience.”

Sueno arrived Thursday aboard a flight from Southern California. He is a son of multiple stakes winner Atreides, who put up triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in his first three starts, all wins at Gulfstream Park in 2014.

Sueno’s dam, Class Above, is a multiple stakes winner, and Sueno became her first stakes winner when he won the $75,000 Gold Rush on Dec. 1 at Golden Gate Fields. Sueno was a $61,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September in 2017 on the advice of bloodstock agent Bob Feld.

“Bob did a great job in selecting this horse,” Desormeaux said. “First-year sire, under the radar, bought for his athletic prowess. He hit the nail on the head.”

Desormeaux said Feld recommended him to Silverton, and Sueno is the first horse he has trained for the Kentucky-based ownership, which raced 2007 Blue Grass winner Dominican.

“They’ve branched out to several racing jurisdictions in pursuit of that Derby dream, and I’m very lucky and honored to get their business out here in Southern California,” said Desormeaux.

Sueno drew post 7 for the Southwest when entries were taken Friday. He is part of an 11-horse field and will be ridden by Corey Lanerie. The Southwest goes as the ninth race and is the third and final stakes on a program that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Bayakoa, which drew 10, and the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap, which drew 14, including the Desormeaux trainee Sonneteer.

The Southwest field, from the rail and with riders, is: Gray Attempt, Shaun Bridgmohan; Ninth Street, David Cabrera; Cutting Humor, John Velazquez; Boldor, Ramon Vazquez; Jersey Agenda, Ricardo Santana Jr.; Super Steed, Terry Thompson; Sueno, Corey Lanerie; Six Shooter, Stewart Elliott; Bankit, Jose Ortiz; Long Range Toddy, Richard Eramia; and Olympic Runner, David Cohen.

Whitmore targets Hot Springs

Whitmore is gearing up for another season at Oaklawn Park, where he has won the past two runnings of the Grade 3, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.

“Our ultimate goal at Oaklawn is the Count Fleet, and he’ll have an out before then,” said trainer Ron Moquett. “It will probably be like last year, in the Hot Springs.”

Whitmore won that race a year ago at Oaklawn. The 2019 renewal of the $150,000 race at six furlongs is March 9.

Since he was last seen at Oaklawn, Whitmore has become a Grade 1 winner, taking the Forego in August at Saratoga. He went on to run second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, breaking last from the rail and closing fast to finish 3 1/4 lengths behind champion Roy H.

“He brought his run,” said Moquett.

Whitmore was given his annual freshening following the start and returned to Oaklawn the first week of January.

“Same exact schedule as last year,” said Moquett.

Whitmore on Wednesday logged his first work back, going a half-mile in company in 52.40 seconds.

“I was just trying to let him stretch his legs a little bit,” Moquett said. “We worked him nice and easy, and I was really pleased with the way he did it.”

Whitmore, a 6-year-old gelding by Pleasantly Perfect, races for Bob LaPenta, Southern Springs Stables, and Head of Plains Partners. He has won 11 of 24 starts and earned $2.3 million.

◗ Desormeaux will start Dancing Belle in Sunday’s fifth race, an optional $16,000 claiming route for fillies and mares that carries first-level allowance conditions. Dancing Belle, who is Grade 2-placed, made the trip with Sueno and Sonneteer.

“She’s on her way to the breeding shed,” Desormeaux said. “She’s very fit, and she’s graded stakes-placed, and we’re hoping she takes to that track the way Sonneteer did. It’s a nice pit stop on her way to Lexington. If she runs an awesome race, then we’ll run her back again. There’s time for that.”