Kentucky Derby 2019 Daily: Sueno gets test in the Southwest

Welcome to Horse Racing Nation’s Kentucky Derby Daily, which will each day leading up to the May 4 race at Churchill Downs detail all the news and notes related to contenders in one convenient space.

Trainer Keith Desormeaux says connections have “big aspirations” for Sueno, who returns to the site of much success for the barn in Monday’s Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes.

“If you’re thinking at that level with these horses, in my mind at least, shipping is good for them, running on a different surface is good for them,” said Desormeaux, who’s based at Santa Anita Park, “just to give them experience and tighten them up a bit.”

A good showing would propel the son of Atreides to the Santa Anita Derby (G1) as a final prep for the 2019 Kentucky Derby.

That’s a different route to Churchill Downs than Desormeaux used a year ago. As with Sueno, My Boy Jack exited Santa Anita’s Sham Stakes (G3) to open his 3-year-old campaign. That colt won the Southwest, ran third in the Louisiana Derby (G2) and also took Keeneland’s Lexington Stakes (G3) in a last-ditch effort for points.

But this is a different kind of horse. Sueno is a much more lightly raced Derby hopeuful, purchased for $61,000 as a yearling and set to make his fifth career start in the Southwest with Corey Lanerie up. He is a previous stakes winner having taken Golden Gate Fields’ Gold Rush back on Dec. 1 before finishing a close second to Gunmetal Gray in the Sham.

“It seemed like good timing for us,” Desormeaux said of a trip to Oaklawn Park. “I didn’t want to run him back after the Sham in four weeks in the Bob Lewis, which is the next race at Santa Anita in their series.”

Sueno rates as a 7-2 co-second choice from post 7. Cutting Humor, a Todd Pletcher trainee shipping in from Florida, is the 3-1 favorite. Local Smarty Jones Stakes winner Gray Attempt measures the same price as Desormeaux’s entry.

RELATED: Free Southwest Stakes past performances

Sueno’s career began modestly with two races in claiming company before the Gold Rush, which featured a three-wide rally before he took the lead in the stretch.

“Obviously, my judge of talent was suspect in the fact that I ran this horse for ($62,500) first time out,” Desormeaux said. “Part of that is because he is by a kind of an under-the-radar first-year sire. Not a big price as a yearling.

“The horse is totally built and has that mentality for distance, so he was not showing his cards early in the summer. That’s why I got away running him like I did.”

By the end of the day Monday, many more may know the name Sueno, which is Spanish for “dream” — and quite fitting of a 3-year-old on the Derby trail.

Derby links

• Trainer Mark Casse has seen the Derby trail take “wear and tear” on promising 3-year-olds but reasoned that War of Will is thriving on the experience following a win in the Risen Star Stakes (G2). 

• Anothertwistafate earned a Beyer Speed Figure two points higher than War of Will in the El Camino Real Derby. Is dirt next? Trainer Blaine Wright runs down his options. 

• Early Sunday, Oval Ace won Tokyo Racecourse’s Hyacinth Stakes to head to the top of Japan’s trail. Will connections foot the $6,000 bill for a Triple Crown nomination? See the victory on our Derby Radar.

In case you missed it…

Saturday’s Derby Daily report ran down how many points it has taken to qualify for past Derbys — and what it may take to make it in this year’s field.