Southwest, Battaglia Are Weekend Stops on Derby Trail

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From Churchill Downs
The $75,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Saturday should identify which of this winter's Arkansas-based horses are emerging as major contenders for the $500,000 Arkansas Derby. The field of 11 for the one-mile Southwest includes the 1-2-3 finishers from Oaklawn's recent Mountain Valley Stakes: Son of Rocket, Firststatedeposit, and Much Too Tough.

Also in the field are a couple of horses in Spectacular Cat, winner of the Spectacular Bid at Arlington Park last fall, and Crafty Shaw, who has yet to be nominated to the Kentucky Derby and the Visa Triple Crown but turned heads with a front-running win in an Oaklawn Park allowance race for trainer Peter Vestal.

"He still must learn to relax," said Vestal, who won the 1996 Southwest with Ide. "He has natural speed and is very competitive, but he will not have the total package until he learns to harness those two."

The last horse to sweep the Southwest and the Arkansas Derby was Proper Reality in 1986.

At Northern Kentucky's Turfway Park, the $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial has attracted a field of eight that is headed by Bonnie Scot, an impressive stretch-running winner in the Presidents Stakes in his most recent start. Regular jockey Greta Kuntzweiler will travel from Oaklawn Park to ride.

Others in the field for Turfway's major prep for its $750,000 Spiral include Presidents runner-up X Country and Daring Pegasus.

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