Smarty Jones Stakes

Multiple graded winner Fulsome (Into Mischief--Flourish, by Distorted Humor) was represented by his first Kentucky-bred foal when Addadore (Star Guitar) produced a filly Jan. 23. The foal was bred by Todd and Angie Lewis's Westbrook Stables and foaled in Nicholasville. "This filly hit the ground running; stood in 34 minutes," said Todd Lewis. "Plenty of bone and a good top line." Westbrook Stables bred Soul of an Angel (Atreides), winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, who was honored with the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter...

Prep season for the GI Kentucky Derby is still in its earliest stages, but a couple of races over the weekend gave us some things to get excited about. It appears, in GII San Vicente Stakes winner Barnes (Into Mischief), we have an early Derby favorite that could give Bob Baffert his first official Derby win since Authentic (Into Mischief) in 2020 in what would be his return to America's most famous race after the Churchill ban. Sold for $3.2 million at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, this could be a special horse....

With plenty of tasty birthday cake in the offing, a cadre of newly-minted 3-year-old colts have blown out their candles and are ready for stakes action across four tracks on Saturday. Leading the charge at Santa Anita is the GII San Vicente Stakes, which is the annual renewal of the seven furlong dirt race. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won 13 prior editions, including last year with Muth (Good Magic). In customary fashion, the Hall of Famer enters a pair of runners in Barnes (Into Mischief) and Romanesque...

Informed Patriot (Hard Spun), third in Saturday's GIII Indiana Derby, has been added to the line-up for the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, which will be held Monday in Lexington. He is catalogued as hip 523 and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent. Third in last year's GIII Street Sense Stakes, Informed Patriot opened his sophomore campaign with a third-place effort in the Smarty Jones Stakes. He won the Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn in April. Racing for J. Kirk and Judy Robison and trained by...

To get his new business off the ground--or at least out of the basement of his house in Iowa--Dennis Albaugh took out an SBA loan of $10,000. "Against the house," he says. "Had to talk my wife into that. Then I bought an old tanker and, my first trip out, I loaded up with chemicals headed for South Dakota. And all the way up there I'm thinking, 'Hey, this is really a good truck.' It just runs a little better all the way up. I get there, I get out,...

Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom, the 8-5 favorite, kicked off his sophomore campaign in style with a late-running victory in the Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park Monday. Favored for his third-straight start, the bay colt was unhurried early Monday and settled well off the pace behind fractions of :23.02 and :47.01. He inched closer along the rail on the far turn, tipped out for running room approaching the stretch and rolled up four wide into the lane. Just to his inside off the turn was Just Steel (Justify), who...

Bob Baffert has a chance to sweep Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby preps as he saddles three of the five runners in Santa Anita's GII San Vicente and the morning-line favorite in Oaklawn's GIII Southwest S. in Newgrange (Violence). A debut winner at Del Mar Nov. 28, the dark bay wired Santa Anita's GIII Sham S. next out Jan. 1, earning a field's-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure. Smarty Jones S. top three Dash Attack (Munnings), Barber Road (Race Day) and Ignitis (Nyquist) rematch here. Opening his account with a 1 1/4-length...

Prohibitive favorite Fulsome (Into Mischief) sat back and came with his run to return to winning ways in Tuesday evening's GIII Smarty Jones S. at Parx. A third-out graduate over the Fair Grounds sod in January, he was forced to try the main track two starts later in a rained-off, sloppy allowance at Keeneland Apr. 10, but found his calling that day when cruising to a 3 1/2-length victory. The bay added the Oaklawn S. May 1 over stablemate and next-out Texas Derby hero Warrant (Constitution), and took a major...

Smarty Jones S. runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Three Technique (Mr Speaker) registered a half-mile bullet of :46 (1/119) Saturday morning at Oaklawn in preparation for the GII Rebel S., galloping out in :59.20. Marquel Lemon was aboard Three Technique just after the renovation break for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. The sophomore went in company with Belmont's 2019 Gold Fever S. winner Wendell Fong (Flat Out). "I wanted him to be a little bit sharper," said Englehart. "It kind of surprised me how well they looked and how sharp they worked....

Gold Street earned 10 points towards the GI Kentucky Derby Friday with a front-running score in Oaklawn's Smarty Jones S. Let go at 10-1 in this first try beyond six furlongs, the $150,000 KEESEP buy went straight to the lead under Martin Garcia and loped along through splits of :24.08 and :48.96 with Lynn's Map (Liam's Map) glued to his outside hip. That rival called it quits on the backstretch and 'TDN Rising Stars' Three Technique and Shoplifted ranged up to challenge entering the turn. However, Gold Street still had...