Kentucky Derby 2018 trail: My Boy Jack wins Southwest Stakes
A muddy track on the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail? Hope you bet the Keith Desormeaux horse.
My Boy Jack made a late charge up the rail to win Monday’s Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest Stakes — it was shades of Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator — and cement himself as a contender heading into the first Saturday in May.
Especially if it rains.
Third in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes last month on the West Coast, another try on the main track for this former turf runner did the son of Creative Cause plenty of good as, under jockey Kent Desormeaux, Keith’s brother, My Boy Jack rolled late to a 4 1/2-length victory.
"I had a beautiful ride," Kent said, "but it's a great training job by Keith on the fact that last time the horse left the gate quiet as a church mouse and got very, very aggressive. I was skiing on his for a good 7/8 of a mile, and when I turned him loose, he just kind of galloped home.
"He didn't stop, but he didn't have the power he had today -- and he had full-run power down the lane."
Mourinho, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes in his last start at Oaklawn, faded from the lead after clicking off the opening half mile in 47.40 seconds, challenged to his outside by Road to Damascus. He managed to hold for fourth.
“We didn’t get the easy lead like that we did last time," said jockey Drayden Van Dyke. "I was a bit surprised that the (Todd) Pletcher horse passed me like that. To be honest, I think if the track would have been faster and not the condition it’s in, I still don’t think they would have caught him. I will blame it on the track. He was swimming through it.”
Campaigned by Don't Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables, My Boy Jack made the most of those early fractions, going from last into the far turn to first by open lengths. The final time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:46.00, a touch slower than the 1:45.14 covered by Hawaakom, an older horse that won the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap one race earlier on the card.
Kent Desormeaux said he went through eight goggles, one eye at a time, throughout the race, which awarded Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the Top 4 finishers on a 10-4-2-1 scale.
"The track's consistency is like peanut butter," Desormeaux said. "Their feet go into that ground, and it's trying to suck their shoes off. It's pretty sticky.
"...The best thing about the race is now he's going to run in a derby. It might be the Arkansas Derby, but we're derby-bound."