Oaklawn Park's road to the GI Kentucky Derby begins in earnest Monday with the $150,000 Smarty Jones S. headlining the holiday card of racing. With the later Arkansas preps proving to be some of the most productive races in recent years, the Smarty Jones has attracted a number of highly regarded out-of-town shippers, headlined by Bob Baffert-trained 'TDN Rising Star' Mourinho (Super Saver) and Navistar (Union Rags), a recent maiden winner for Todd Pletcher.
Phoenix Thoroughbred III's Mourinho, a $625,000 OBS March purchase, graduated at first asking at Santa Anita Sept. 30 and endured two defeats as the favorite behind Beautiful Shot (Trappe Shot) in the Oct. 15 Speakeasy S. and Greyvitos (Malibu Moon) in the Nov. 11 GIII Bob Hope S. Following that performance, Baffert opted to add blinkers on the colt and ship him east to stretch out to a route of ground.
“I wanted to stretch him out and I didn't want to run him against my other horse, McKinzie (Street Sense) [in the GIII Sham S. Jan. 6],” Baffert said. ” I thought I would bring him [to Oaklawn] and see how he handles the shipping and really see if he can go two turns.”
Robert LaPenta's Navistar will also get his first two-turn test in the Smarty Jones. After finishing second behind undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Mask (Tapit) in his 6 1/2-furlong Belmont debut Oct. 20, the bay shipped to South Florida and comfortably annexed a one-mile maiden special weight test–a race that has already produced a next-out winner at the level.
Baffert and Pletcher have plundered the Derby preps at Oaklawn in recent years, winning a combined 11 local 3-year-old stakes over the past five seasons.
Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen is more of a regular in Hot Springs and has a pair of colts by the late Scat Daddy entered in the Smarty Jones. Combatant, second behind Greyvitos in the Dec. 17 Springboard Mile, and Tap Daddy, a two-time winner on turf, will both ship in from the Fair Grounds.
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