Suddenbreakingnews: Southwest winner comes from the clouds
Recent history at Oaklawn Park is a rich one. In the last 12 years, 13 Triple Crown races have been won by horses who have competed at the Hot Springs oval during the early months of their sophomore seasons. Armed with that knowledge, it seems wise to pay special attention to the stakes races that make up the Arkansas path to the 2016 Kentucky Derby. Today’s Southwest Stakes featured an interesting field of 14 hoping to make a big move towards the first Saturday in May -- and a big move is exactly what we got. Last early, Suddenbreakingnews exploded down the lane to swoop by them all and win the $500,000 feature going away by 2 ¾ impressive lengths.
As part of a two-horse Donnie Von Hemel trained entry, the gelded son of Mineshaft was sent off as the 4-1 third choice, and immediately found his way to the back of the large field with rider Luis Quinonez in the irons. Up front, 14-1 chance Siding Spring led the big Southwest field through solid opening fractions of :23.10, :47.06, and 1:12.30. Another long shot, American Dubai stayed close early, and made his move to the lead on the far turn. Meanwhile, the eventual winner was starting to unwind, but was still back in 12th with just over a quarter mile to run. As American Dubai struck the lead, it was the race favorite, Collected who loomed an immediate threat, and just behind him, the second choice, Whitmore was gaining fast.
American Dubai proved game, and turned away the challenge of the favorite, but Whitmore, who had steadied significantly earlier in the race, was digging in and methodically picking up ground. It appeared the two might battle it out to the wire, and they did, but their battle would only be for second place, as it turned out. Down the middle of the track, the horse with the orange silks was in full flight. Like a runaway freight train, Suddenbreakingnews inhaled the leaders, and quickly opened up before hitting the wire. Whitmore edged American Dubai for the place, with Collected another two lengths back in fourth. The victorious rider knew he had something good at the top of the lane.
“I let him run his race, said Quinonez. “When he started making a move I tried inside but there was nothing there. I moved him outside and with his long stride he started picking it up quick. I told myself down the lane, “We got this.”
With the Southwest Stakes victory, the consistent Suddenbreakingnews leveled off his record to 6-3-3-0, while raising his career earnings to $443,032 for owner, Samuel F. Henderson. He also boosted his qualifying point total for the Kentucky Derby to ten points, all of which were earned today. Today was his first start as a three-year-old, and his first start since losing a nose decision in the Springboard Mile at Remington Park. Before that he had accounted for the Clever Trevor Stakes at the same Oklahoma oval, where he had done all of his juvenile racing. Von Hemel was hopeful that he would be ready for his sophomore debut.
“There were concerns about this being his first start and the post position (#13). Luis Quinonez knew he had to drop back to save ground and it just turned out he was trailing the field. That’s the good thing about Luis. Even when you have a plan that doesn’t work out, he has the experience to still get it done. I could tell at the eighth pole that he was going to get there. It’s very exciting. More than likely, we’ll look at the Rebel (Stakes March 19) next.”
While he emphasized not wanting to look past “a big race” in the Rebel, the winning trainer also told me that he believes the ten furlongs of the Kentucky Derby will be within the scope of Suddenbreakingnews. “As a son of Mineshaft, I think so,” said Von Hemel. “And Afleet Alex is his broodmare sire. He won the Belmont at a mile and a half. He should be OK [going longer].”
The final time for the Southwest, on a track labeled as good all day, was 1:45.14. A time that doesn’t sound flashy, but was actually faster than both of the older stakes winners ran this weekend in the Essex and Bayakoa Stakes respectively
So now for the big question -- Is Suddenbreakingnews a legitimate Kentucky Derby horse? It gets tougher from here without question, but he just might be. With the pedigree to stretch out, and the good foundation of five races at two, the bay gelding might be a horse who can really pick up the pieces in Louisville, if the leaders get a little leg weary down the Churchill Downs lane. Today, he obviously looked good.