Oaklawn Barn Notes: Smarty Jones Rematch Likely On Hold Until Rebel

By Jennifer Hoyt —-

Smarty Jones Rematch Likely On Hold Until Rebel

Any rematch between the top two finishers in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds last Friday at Oaklawn apparently won’t occur until at least March.

While Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen said front-running winner Gold Street “most likely” will make his next start in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 17, Smarty Jones runner-up Three Technique will probably skip the 1 1/16-mile race and await Oaklawn’s final major Arkansas Derby prep, his trainer, Jeremiah Englehart, said Wednesday afternoon.

Englehart said Three Technique is still under consideration for the Southwest, but his next stop is more likely the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles March 14, another steppingstone to the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 11.

“Right now, he seems like he came back fine,” Englehart said. “He’s been back to the track. Probably the Rebel might be next for him.”

Englehart said he was pleased with Three Technique’s performance in the Smarty Jones, which marked his 3-year-old, stakes and two-turn debut. Three Technique, the 2-1 favorite, was beaten 2 ¾ lengths by a loose-on-the-lead Gold Street after breaking a touch slow from post 9 in the nine-horse field. The 1-mile race was run over a muddy surface and was Gold Street’s third consecutive victory (all on-off tracks).

“I was pretty happy with the way he ran, all things considered,” Englehart said. “Steve’s horse ran a great race. Kind of was able to dictate his pace. We didn’t get off to the best start, but I thought for Three Technique it was the right move forward in stakes company and hopefully he’ll continue to improve.”

Owned by Bill Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Three Technique closed 2019 with two dominating victories in New York and has been favored in all five career starts, including a maiden special weights sprint July 21 at Saratoga. Three Technique finished second, beaten 1 ¼ length by Basin, who returned to win the $350,000 Hopeful Stakes (G1) Sept. 2 at Saratoga. Basin, also trained by Asmussen, is scheduled to make his 3-year-old debut in the Rebel. The Liam’s Map colt posted his third half-mile work this month Sunday at Fair Grounds (:51.20).

Gold Street provided Asmussen with his first Smarty Jones victory and 84th Oaklawn stakes victory overall. Asmussen, seeking his record-tying 11th Oaklawn training title, has at least one stakes victory every year in Hot Springs since his first in 1996. According to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization, the Smarty Jones was Asmussen’s 1,001st North American stakes victory. He had already reached 1,000 worldwide with two stakes victories in 2008 in Dubai by Curlin, winner of the 2007 Rebel and Arkansas Derby.

Gold Street, who was making his 3-year-old, and two-turn debut in the Smarty Jones, was exiting a 3 ½-length score over a sloppy track in the $75,000 Sugar Bowl Stakes Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds. Gold Street earned a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 95, a career-high, for his Smarty Jones victory.

“Nice horse – that’s now three wins together in a row, all three on off racetracks,” Asmussen said. “I think that the racetracks are definitely playing conducive to his natural style and he took advantage of it.”

The 6-furlong Sugar Bowl has been a productive Smarty Jones prep since the race was inaugurated in 2008. Liberty Bull finished second in the 2007 Sugar Bowl before winning the 2008 Smarty Jones in his 3-year-old and two-turn debut. Gray Attempt won the 2018 Sugar Bowl and last year’s Smarty Jones in his 3-year-old and two-turn debut.

Owned by Texan Mike McCarty, a longtime Asmussen client, Gold Street has finished first or second in his last five starts after running ninth in his Aug. 24 off-the-turf career debut at Ellis Park.

“He’s a big, strong colt that’s finally put it together,” Asmussen said. “There’s a lot of him there, and he’s in a very good rhythm and obviously on a three-race win streak.”

Gold Street earned 10 Kentucky Derby-qualifying points for his victory, with Three Technique receiving four. Gold Street, a $150,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is by Street Boss, who sired 2014 Arkansas Derby winner Danza. McCarty and Asmussen finished third in the 2006 Arkansas Derby with Private Vow.

Locally based Answer In is scheduled to make his 3-year-old in the Southwest for trainer Brad Cox. Answer In hasn’t started since finishing second in the $400,000 Springboard Mile Dec. 15 at Remington Park. Like the Smarty Jones, the Southwest will offer 17 points toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby (10-4-2-1). The Southwest has a record purse this year.

Friday’s Feature

Major stakes winner Lone Sailor is the 3-1 program favorite for Friday’s featured eighth race, an $88,000 allowance/optional claimer for older horses at 1 1/16 miles.

Campaigned by Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, and trained by Tom Amoss, Lone Sailor won the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3) in 2018 at Remington Park and finished second, beaten a neck, in the $750,000 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) last year at Oaklawn. In his final two starts at 4 years old, the late-running Lone Sailor finished 10th in the $838,400 Korea Cup (G1) Sept. 8 in South Korea and third, beaten a half-length, in the $75,000 Tenacious Stakes Dec. 21 at the Fair Grounds.

Tenacious winner Pioneer Spirit won the second division of the $100,000 Fifth Season Stakes last Saturday at Oaklawn.

“Look, he’s a horse that has to have his setup and when you look over this race, it looks like there’s a good amount of speed in the race and that’s important to him,” Amoss said Thursday morning. “But he’s quirky in other ways, too. He’d rather be outside, he’d rather come around. It’s a big field. There are some things in play here that we need to work to our advantage.”

Lone Sailor, who is scheduled to break from post 3 under Joe Talamo, is among 10 horses the Fair Grounds-based Amoss has at Oaklawn. Although the 5-year-old Majestic Warrior gelding doesn’t show a published work at Oaklawn, Amoss said a Jan. 14 breeze was missed because of fog.

“It’s hopefully a chance to get on track,” Amoss said. “He went all the way to South Korea to run. It was a disaster. They actually had a tsunami a couple of days before the race. He came back and ran well at the Fair Grounds. That field has held up very nicely.”

Another Grade 3 winner in the projected 12-horse field is Forty Under (6-1) for trainer Jeremiah Englehart and owner Bill Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Forty Under, by Uncle Mo, has made his last seven starts on turf after finishing ninth in his July 2018 career debut at Saratoga on dirt. Forty Under won the $200,000 Pilgrim Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park and finished sixth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) as a 2-year-old in 2018.

“He’s been training really well at Oaklawn,” Englehart said Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve always wanted to try him back on the dirt once, so I just thought this was a good spot to try him. It’s a very salty race. If he runs well on the dirt, that’s great. If not, then we can take him back to the turf.”

Also entered are Curlin Rules (9-2) for trainer John Sadler and Dueling (5-1) for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Dueling ran sixth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) in 2018 and was second in the $250,000 Zia Park Derby Nov. 27 at Zia Park in his last start.

Probable post time for Friday’s eighth race is 4:42 p.m. (Central). First post Friday is 1:30 p.m.

Finish Lines

There is a special first post Sunday (12:35 p.m., Central) because of the Super Bowl. … Boldor ($13.20) represented Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen’s 650th career Oaklawn victory in last Sunday’s eighth race, an allowance sprint for older horses. Asmussen is seeking his record-tying 11th Oaklawn training title and fifth consecutive. He won three races opening weekend to trail only Robertino Diodoro (four victories) in the standings. Diodoro has been Oaklawn’s second-leading trainer the last three years.