Smith 'excited about the chance' to ride West Coast again

Move over, Fort Knox.

Mike Smith, the man with the Midas Touch, hopes to add to his lucrative bankroll Saturday when he rides champion West Coast in the Grade 1, $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes for three-year-olds and up at 1 1/8 miles.

West Coast, Eclipse Award winner as outstanding three-year-old male of 2017, has not raced since last March 31 when second in the Dubai World Cup, but was a $6,000 supplemental nominee to the Awesome Again, which trainer Bob Baffert plans to use as a steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

The Awesome Again is but one of five Grade 1, Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” events opening weekend, providing the winner with a fees-paid berth to their respective Breeders’ Cup races Nov. 2 and 3 at Churchill Downs.

Smith, just back from the East Coast where he won two $1 million races at Parx last Saturday, was putting jet lag on the back burner Thursday morning at Clockers’ Corner.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to ride West Coast back,” said Smith, whose $316,689,364 in career earnings place him second all time behind John Velazquez with $391,977,502.

The jockey last rode West Coast when he won last year's Pennsylvania Derby. Since then, Javier Castellano has held the mount.

“It’s his first race out in a while,” Smith said of West Coast, “but as you well know, Bob will have them ready, we’re excited about the chance, and we’ll see how we come back.”

The field for the Awesome Again: Shades of Victory, Martin Pedroza, 50-1; Isotherm, Geovanni Franco, 15-1; Prime Attraction, Kent Desormeaux, 10-1; The Lieutenant, Flavien Prat, 10-1; West Coast, Mike Smith, 7-5; and Accelerate, Joel Rosario, 3-5.