Uncontested completes major preparations for Southwest

Uncontested completed major preparations for the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds with an easy workout Tuesday morning at Oaklawn. Breezing over a fast track for Monday’s 1 1/16-mile Southwest, Uncontested was credited by clockers with a half-mile in :51.

 

The son of Tiz Wonderful went his final quarter-mile in :24 and galloped out 5 furlongs in 1:04.40 for trainer Wayne Catalano and co-owners Harry Rosenblum and Robert LaPenta. Rosenblum said Tuesday’s move was actually a “two-minute lick” (a horse moving at a slower tempo to cover a mile, or one lap of the track, in approximately two minutes).

 

“A lot of trainers do things different ways,” Rosenblum said Wednesday morning. “And, what he basically did was he two-minute licked him a mile and let him finish the last half and he did the last quarter in :24. So it really wasn’t a half-mile work – as was posted – but that’s what they caught him, the last half-mile. It was really a two-minute lick of a mile.”

 

Uncontested, exiting a record-setting 5 ¼-length wire-to-wire victory in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 16, is among at least 10 locally based horses scheduled to run in the Southwest.

 

Six projected Southwest starters worked over a fast track Monday, including Smarty Jones runner-up Petrov, who breezed 5 furlongs in company in 1:00. He covered his final quarter-mile in :22.80 and galloped out 6 furlongs in 1:13.

 

“I’m proud of where we’re at,” co-owner/trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs said Monday morning. “I’m ready to see what happens.”

 

Lookin At Lee worked a half-mile in :50.20 for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. He hasn’t started since finishing fourth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.

 

Chief Know It All, a Jan. 27 first-level allowance/optional claiming winner, worked a half-mile in company in :48.40 for trainer Brad Cox.

 

Rowdy the Warrior, third in the Smarty Jones, worked a half-mile in :49.40 for trainer Donnie K. Von Hemel.

 

Silver Dust, who will be making his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest, worked a half-mile in :48.40 for trainer Randy Morse.

 

Dilettante, a Jan. 29 maiden winner for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, went 5 furlongs in 1:00.60.

Other locally based horses pointing for the Southwest include Warrior’s Club, fourth in the Smarty Jones; Hence, who broke his maiden the race before the Smarty Jones to give Asmussen his 500th career Oaklawn victory; and P C Cowboy, recently sold and transferred to trainer John Ortiz after a Jan. 13 maiden victory for Oaklawn leading owner Danny Caldwell.

 

The Southwest, which closed Friday with 40 nominations, offers 17 points to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1) toward starting eligibility for the $2 million Kentucky Derby (G1) May 6 at Churchill Downs.

 

Post positions for the Southwest will be drawn Friday.

 

The Smarty Jones and Southwest are two of Oaklawn’s four major preps for the Kentucky Derby, a series that continues with the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) March 18 and $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 15.

 

 

Gun Runner recorded a 5-furlong bullet (:59.80) over a fast track Monday morning for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen in preparation for the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3). Winner of the $500,000 Clark Handicap (G1) Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs in his last start, he is scheduled to make his 4-year-old debut in Monday’s Razorback at 1 1/16 miles.

 

Clockers caught Gun Runner galloping out 6 furlongs in 1:11.80. Gun Runner went his final quarter-mile in :22.20 and final three-eighths in :34.60.

 

Campaigned by Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron and Joan Winchell) and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner has a 6-2-2 record from 12 starts and lifetime earnings of $2,037,800. The son of Candy Ride finished third in last year’s Kentucky Derby.

 

Also breezing Monday toward a scheduled start in the Razorback was multiple stakes winner Shotgun Kowboy, who covered a half-mile in :48.80 for breeder/owner/trainer C.R. Trout. Shotgun Kowboy was a Jan. 27 allowance/optional claiming winner in his 5-year-old debut.

 

Southern California-based Blue Tone arrived at noon (Central) Tuesday for trainer Bob Hess Jr., who plans to start the 8-year-old gelding in the Razorback. He was vanned to Oaklawn after a two-hour, 55-minute flight earlier Tuesday from Ontario, Calif., to Little Rock, Ark. (approximately 50 miles northeast of Hot Springs).

 

Blue Tone is coming off a front-running victory in the $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes (G3) Jan. 7 at Santa Anita. The 1 1/8-mile race was switched from the grass to the main track because of rain.

 

The Razorback, which will offer a record purse this year, closed Friday with 31 nominations. It is the second major local prep for the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G1) April 15.

 

Post positions for the Razorback Handicap will be drawn Friday.