Speed King (Volatile), second as the favorite in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13, ran them off their feet in Saturday's GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park, good for 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Overlooked at odds of 14-1 while drawn widest of all in post nine, Speed King cleared the field beneath Rafael Bejarano heading into the clubhouse turn. He set fractions of :24.11 and :47.82, gave them the slip on the far turn and kept on finding down the stretch to pull off the upset by a length.
Sandman (Tapit) ran a fantastic race to finish a rallying second after getting off to a horrific start, breaking in a tangle. Tiztastic (Tiz the Law) was third.
Favored 'TDN Rising Star' Patch Adams (Into Mischief), a jaw-dropping maiden winner at second asking at Churchill Downs Nov. 30, was a disappointing fourth in his two-turn debut for Brad Cox.
Speed King, a front-running debut winner at 22-1 at Churchill Downs Nov. 1, finished a half-length behind next-out Smarty Jones S. winner Coal Battle (Coal Front) in the Springboard Mile.
Pedigree Notes:
Speed King, an $85,000 KEENOV weanling, $30,000 KEESEP yearling and $100,000 OBSAPR 2-year-old, becomes the second stakes winner and first graded winner for young sire Volatile. Three-time winner Athenian Beauty (Corinthian) is also represented by the 2-year-old filly Akkadevi (Cairo Prince) ($55,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Pierre and Leslie Amestoy) and a yearling filly by Early Voting ($85,000 KEENOV purchase by Bell and Barksdale). She was bred to Caracaro for 2025. Athenian Beauty was purchased by breeder Nancy C. Shuford in foal to Verrazano at the 2016 KEENOV sale. This is the extended female family of GISWs Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), Great Hunter (Aptitude) and Stellar Wind (Curlin).
👑 Speed King takes them all the way in the G3 Southwest and picks up 20 points towards Kentucky Derby 151! @ronmoquett trains the 3YO colt and @sambitoperu was aboard!
A 14/1 winner and you can't say @emilyoptixeq didn't tell you about this one! 💰
🎥 TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/SoaG21TqbP
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) January 25, 2025
Saturday, Oaklawn
SOUTHWEST S.-GIII, $1,000,000, Oaklawn, 1-25, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.86, ft.
1–SPEED KING, 117, c, 3, by Volatile
1st Dam: Athenian Beauty, by Corinthian
2nd Dam: Im Out First, by Allen's Prospect
3rd Dam: Sequins, by Northern Fashion
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($85,000
Wlg '22 KEENOV; $30,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $100,000 2yo '24
OBSAPR). O-Triton Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Nancy C. Shuford
(KY); T-Ron Moquett; J-Rafael Bejarano. $540,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-2-1-0, $669,000. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sandman, 119, c, 3, Tapit–Distorted Music, by Distorted
Humor. ($1,200,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-D. J. Stable LLC, St.
Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables;
B-Lothenbach Stables Inc (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $180,000.
3–Tiztastic, 119, c, 3, Tiz the Law–Keesha, by Tapit. ($80,000 Ylg
'23 KEEJAN; $335,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-Winchell
Thoroughbreds LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and
Derrick Smith; B-Capital Bloodstock (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $90,000.
Margins: 1, 1HF, HD. Odds: 14.30, 6.40, 16.50.
Also Ran: Patch Adams, Monet's Magic, Publisher, American Promise, Gaming, Bon Temps. Scratched: Render Judgment.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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