Robert LaPenta and Harry Rosenblum's Uncontested will look to score an Oaklawn Park Triple Crown prep double in the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 20.
The Tiz Wonderful colt trained by Wayne Catalano could not have been more impressive in the Jan. 16 Smarty Jones Stakes, Oaklawn's first 3-year-old prep race for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), when he set the pace and pulled away late to win by 5 1/4 lengths.
The four who finished immediately behind Uncontested in his romp—Petrov (second), Rowdy the Warrior (third), Warrior's Club (fourth), and Cu Rahy (fifth)—also are back for the Southwest.
MITCHELL: Uncontested Romp in Smarty Jones
The main contenders to take down Uncontested appear to be L and N Racing's Lookin At Lee and undefeated East Coast shipper One Liner.
Lookin At Lee, a Lookin At Lucky colt trained by Steve Asmussen, earned his lone stakes win in the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes in August, but has been racing against top competition since. He came in second in the Iroquois Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs in September and was runner-up to champion Classic Empire in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland before wrapping up his 2-year-old season with a fourth-place run in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
One Liner—an Into Mischief colt owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing—doesn't have the stakes experience, but does have two flashy victories. The Todd Pletcher trainee won his debut by 1 1/2 lengths going 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga Race Course in July, then took a six-furlong optional-claiming allowance at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26 by 2 1/2 lengths and was asked to run after the wire by jockey John Velazquez, likely to get an indication how he would handle two turns like he will face in the 1 1/16-mile Southwest.
Another intriguing runner entering off a stakes win is Brad Grady's Cool Arrow, another Into Mischief colt, who impressively won the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes by 3 1/2 lengths last time out Dec. 11 at Remington Park for trainer Joe Sharp.
Three last-out maiden winners could also make a splash in their stakes debuts, including Silver Dust, a Tapit colt who scored by 3 1/2 lengths at Churchill in November; Dilettante, a son of Unbridled's Song who broke his maiden in his eighth try Jan. 29 at Oaklawn; and Hence, a Street Boss colt who overcame a stumbled start to win Jan. 16 at Oaklawn.
Oaklawn Park, Monday, February 20, 2017, Race 9Entries: Southwest S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Cool Arrow (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 119 Joe Sharp 12/1 2 2Silver Dust (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 115 Randy L. Morse 10/1 3 3Uncontested (KY) Channing Hill 122 Wayne M. Catalano 5/2 4 4Lookin At Lee (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 117 Steven M. Asmussen 8/1 5 5Rowdy the Warrior (OK) Luis S. Quinonez 115 Donnie K. Von Hemel 20/1 6 6Cu Rahy (MD) Glenn W. Corbett 115 Danele Durham 50/1 7 7Warrior's Club (KY) Chris Landeros 117 D. Wayne Lukas 12/1 8 8Petrov (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 115 Ron Moquett 5/1 9 9Dilettante (FL) Florent Geroux 115 D. Wayne Lukas 15/1 10 10Hence (KY) Ramon A. Vazquez 115 Steven M. Asmussen 20/1 11 11One Liner (KY) John R. Velazquez 115 Todd A. Pletcher 7/2 12 12P C Cowboy (KY) Carlos H. Marquez, Jr. 115 John Alexander Ortiz 30/1 13 13Chief Know It All (KY) Joseph Rocco, Jr. 117 Brad H. Cox 12/1
