Southwest Stakes Racing Roundup

©2020 Calvin L. Carter. All rights reserved.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby takes us this Monday to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas where ANSWER IN will go to the starting gate as the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the 55^th running of the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3). Post time is 5:43 p.m. ET.

Answer In comes into this race with a 1-2-0 record in three starts for trainer Brad Cox including a second-place finish in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

ANSWER IN was bumped at the start then stalked the pace while two wide on the backstretch, rallied on the far turn three wide, angled inside in mid-stretch and was making a strong bid but hung in the final strides.

Behind horses in the stretch, Answer In continued to run valiantly and finally found room along the rail to get up to get up for second-place honors.

In his only start as a two year old, Answer In’s sire, Dialed In, won a 6½-furlong maiden special weight by a half a length at Churchill Downs in November 2010. As a three year old, Dialed In won the one mile Holy Bull Stakes, finished second in a 9-furlong Allowance Optional Claiming race at Gulfstream Park, and won the Florida Derby (G1) by a head over Shackleford en route to an eighth place-finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

On the Derby Trail, Dialed In’s best runner to date is Gunnevera who won the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2), Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (G3), Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and the Tangelo Stakes. In addition, Gunnevera finished second in the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (G2), third in the Xpressbet Florida Derby (G1) and second in the Travers Stakes (G1).

Answer In has a C Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and that makes him competitive in this race.

A long shot I like is WELLS BAYOU (8-1). He’s also trained by Brad Cox and he comes into this race with a 2-0-0 record in three starts including a nice win in his debut as a three-year-old at Oaklawn Park. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

WELLS BAYOU with pace from start inside, disposed off the other speed turning for home, drew off steadily down the stretch under firm handling.

Wells Bayou ran along the rail in second place to the half mile mark, then took the lead and pulled away in the stretch to win by an impressive four lengths.

Lookin at Lucky, the sire of Wells Bayou, was a multiple graded-stakes winner that compiled a 9-1-1 record in 13 starts with $3,307,278 in career earnings.

Undefeated in four starts, Lookin at Lucky scored impressive stakes victories as a two year old in the Best Pal Stakes (G2), Del Mar Futurity (G1) and Norfolk Stakes (G1), before suffering his first loss by a neck to Vale of York in the 2009 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes (G1). He came back from that loss to close the season with a win in the CashCall Futurity Stakes (G1).

As a three year old, Lookin at Lucky won the Rebel Stakes (G2) and he finished third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) en route to a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Lookin at Lucky went on to earn Classic Champion Thoroughbred honors with a three-quarter length victory in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

Wells Bayou is a colt we profiled as a yearling (Hip 3281) at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and he has an A Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile®. He’s an improving colt and I look for Wells Bayou to take another big step forward in his second start of the season.

CHASE TRACKER (7-2) comes into this race with a 1-0-2 record in three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher including a third-place finish in the Remsen Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct last December. Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

CHASE TRACKER remained stationed along the rail after the field had been sent off and running, vied for the control with the winner until the midway point on the backstretch, saw that opponent cut over to the rail then contently tracked that rival from the pocket, came under urging cutting the corner into the lane, made no headway.

Chase Tracker ran along the rail, just the leader Shotski, to the far turn where he lost momentum but rallied in the stretch to get up for third.

Verrazano, the sire of Chase Tracker, was a multiple graded stakes winner that compiled a 6-1-2 record in thirteen starts with $1,878,013 in career earnings.

At the age of two, Verrazano was unraced. As a three-year-old, he was 6-0-1 in ten starts with wins in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) en route to a fourteenth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1). After the Derby, he went on to win Pegasus Stakes (G3) and William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) and finished the season with a third-place finish in the Cigar Mile Handicap (G1).

At the age of four, Verrazano was 0-1-1 in three starts with a second-place finish in the Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) and a third-place finish in the JLT Lockinge Stakes (Group 1).

Chase Tracker has a C Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and that makes him competitive in this race. Shotski and second-place finisher Ajaaweed have gone on to run well in stakes competition and I look for Chase Tracker to take another step forward in his first start of the season.

SILVER PROSPECTOR (9-2) comes into this race with a 2-0-2 record in seven starts for trainer Steve Asmussen including a fourth-place finish in the Smarty Jones Stakes last out Here’s the video and chart call of that race:

SILVER PROSPECTOR broke out then lacked speed, continued to lack speed, asked along while saving ground into the lane, steered out, some mild interest to improve position.

Silver Prospector was not engaged and ran toward the back of the herd to the far turn. He made a mild rally in the stretch to get up for fourth place.

Kentucky-bred Declaration of War, the sire of Silver Prospector, was a multiple Group Stakes winner in England that compiled a 7-1-2 record in 13 starts with $1,847,489 in career earnings.

At the age of two, Declaration of War was undefeated in two starts.

At the age of three, he was 2-0-0 in three starts with a win in the Diamond Stakes (Group 3).

At four, Declaration of War was 3-1-2 in eight starts with wins in the Heritage Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1) and Juddmonte International Stakes (Group 1). He finished second in the Coral Eclipse Stakes (Group 1) and third in both the QIPCO Sussex Stakes (Group 1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G3).

Silver Prospector has an C Classic Champion Thoroughbred Profile® and that makes him competitive in this race. Silver Prospector did not show much in his season debut but, if he moves forward off that effort, he can be competitive in this race.

Honorable mention goes to Gold Street (6-1) and Shoplifted (8-1).

*****

A total of 35 races comprise the Road to the Kentucky Derby. In addition, there are seven races on the European road to the Kentucky Derby and there three races on the Japan road to Derby glory.

2020 KENTUCKY DERBY LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings

1. Mr. Monomoy, 52, Brad Cox, $260,00

2. Modernist, 50, Bill Mott, $240,000

3. +Enforceable, 33, Mark Casse, $344,550

4. Storm the Court, 22, Peter Eurton, $1,136,351

5. Tiz the Law, 22, Barclay Tagg, $456,000

6. Thousand Words, 20, Bob Baffert, $181,000

7. Major Fed, 20, Greg Foley, $80,000

8. Independence Hall, 14, Mike Trombetta, $205,000

9. Shotski, 14, Jeremiah O’Dwyer, $193,466

10. Silver State, 14, Steve Asmussen, $80,000

11. +Azul Coast, 14, Bob Baffert, $80,000

12. Anneau d’Or, 12, Blaine Wright, $385,000

13. Shoplifted, 12, Steve Asmussen, $351,000

14. Silver Prospector, 11, Steve Asmussen, $204,851

15. Maxfield, 10, Brendan Walsh, $300,000

16. Eight Rings, 10, Bob Baffert, $200,35

17. Sole Volante, 10, Patrick Biancone, $173,510

18. Dennis’ Moment, 10, Dale Romans, $137,800

19. +Max Player, 10, Linda Rice, $137,500

20. Gold Street, 10, Steve Asmussen, $137,250

24. +Scabbard, 6, Eddie Kenneally, $178,000

          + = Enforceable (Hip 76), Max Player (Hip 929), Scabbard (Hip 802) and Azul Coast (Hip 1177) were colts we profiled at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Unlike other companies that provide automatic computer-generated pedigree analysis of yearlings at auction, Classic Champion Thoroughbreds LLC personally handpicks from the sales catalog all yearlings to be profiled at auction based upon their breeding.

EUROPEAN ROAD LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings

1. Kameko, 14, Andrew Balding, $192,894

2. Innisfree (IRE), 14, Aidan O’Brien, $127,856

3. Victor Ludorum, 10, Andre Fabre, $250,958

4. Royal Donarch (IRE), 10, Aidan O’Brien, $115,813

5. Alson (GER), 4, J.P. Carvalho, $135,572

6. Shekhem (IRE), 4, Dermot Weld, $24,068

7. Year of the Tiger (IRE), 3, Aidan O’Brien $36,086

8. Armory (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $258,793

9. Iberia (IRE), 2, Aidan O’Brien, $25,389

10. Gold Maze (GB), 2, Jessica Harrington, $12,034

11. Mogul (GB), 1, Aidan O’Brien, $111,879

12. Ecrivain (FR), 1, Carlos Laffon-Parias, $69.202

13. Camorra (IRE), 1, Ger Lyons, $3,610

JAPAN ROAD LEADERBOARD

Ranking, total points, Trainer, Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings

1. Vacation (JPN), 20, Kenichi Takatsuki, $499,874

2. Dieu du Vin (JPN), 10, Yukihiro Kato, $159,609

3. Iolite (JPN), 8, Yoshinori Muto, $246,008

4. T’s Dunk (JPN), 4, Takashi Mizuno, $143,414

5. Shonan Mario (JPN), 4, Shizuya Kato, $96,526

6. Meisho Tensui (JPN), 2, Katsumi Miani, $255,394

7. Daimei Corrida (JPN), 2, Naoyuki Morita, $107,736

8. Aurora Tesoro, 1, Yoshihiro Hatakeyama, $99,395