HOT SPRINGS -- Far Right rested Friday morning in his stall at the far east end of the Count Fleet barn.
As a veterinarian inspected him, Far Right dipped his head toward a young man, seated cross-legged in the straw, and rubbed his nose along his forearm.
"He's such a goofball," said Chance Moquett, son of Far Right trainer Ron Moquett.
There were grins and general nods of agreement from two others in the stall.
The atmosphere was perfectly relaxed, free of the sort of pressure and tension that will likely dominate the barns and the track today at Oaklawn Park with Far Right and a field of seven others scheduled to start the Arkansas Derby, the next-to-last live race of the 2015 season. Post time is 6:18 p.m.
Far Right is listed as the second choice on the morning line at 9-2. American Pharoah is the 1-2 favorite.
A game plan set by Moquett and Far Right owner Harry Rosenblum last December called for Far Right to enter the first two of three significant Arkansas Derby preparatory races, with the Kentucky Derby as the ultimate springtime goal.
"We first discussed this blueprint in December, after the Delta Jackpot, and we agreed on it all the way around," Rosenblum said.
So far it has produced the results Far Right's connections had hoped.
Far Right finished third after a troubled trip in the Grade III Delta Downs Jackpot in Vinton, La., but he bounced back at Oaklawn with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith traveling in from southern California to ride.
There was a come-from-behind victory in the $150,000 1-mile Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 19, and a repeat performance in the Grade III $300,000 Southwest Stakes at 1 1/16th miles on Feb. 22, a race originally scheduled to be run on Feb. 16 but delayed because of winter weather.
Far Right sat out the Grade II Rebel Stakes, which was won by American Pharoah in a near-effortless performance. It was enough to move American Pharoah, the Eclipse Award winner as the 2-year-old male horse of the year in 2014, to the top of Daily Racing Form's Derby Watch poll.
"Our plan all along was to run in the first two races, hopefully do well, skip the Rebel and run in the Arkansas Derby because we want to have a fresh horse going into the Kentucky Derby," Rosenblum said.
Far Right is ranked 19th on the Road to the Kentucky Derby points list with 22. Moquett said he is optimistic Far Right will run in the Kentucky Derby regardless of his finish today.
"This race is still very important to us," he said. "We want to make sure the choice of running the Derby is in our hands."
Moquett, 42, arrived to visit Far Right and his other horses at Oaklawn at approximately 3:30 a.m. Friday, which is his routine.
"I was always taught the early bird gets the worm," he said.
Moquett's house is about 200 yards from his stables in the Count Fleet and Snow Chief barns, and he was there for lunch as his son sat amused by Far Right. Moquett's house is close enough to the track that he said he can feel the horses as they run by.
"Literally, the house shakes," he said.
Chance Moquett pointed to the house through a fence near near his father's stables.
"I'm usually here in the mornings," he said. "But if I'm at home, I can hear the horses through my bedroom window."
Chance Moquett takes a slightly more sentimental view of Far Right than his father, although they are similar in many ways. They look alike, and they seem to share a similar passion for horse racing.
Chance Moquett compared Far Right to his father.
"They're similar in the fact that they haven't necessarily had everything go their way," he said. "This horse is just a fighter. He's just gutsy. He's not a crazy physical specimen. He just keeps coming, and I like to think of Moquett Racing as the same thing. Sure, we've had down moments, but we just keep coming.
"I think it's very fitting that he could be the horse that puts us 'on the map.' "
Ron Moquett returned to check on his horses, including Far Right, at about 6:30 p.m., shortly after the 10th and final race on Friday's card. The moment Moquett stepped into Count Fleet, Far Right turned in his stall and stuck his head over the partition to stare directly at his trainer.
"I just want to make sure he's happy and alert," Moquett said. "I'll go back and monitor him in a minute, see where he's at in his food consumption with his hay and water, just to make sure he'd doing everything the right way. You know, just double check everything, and then triple check."
Moquett said he would return at about 10 p.m. to check again.
"You just have to keep checking," Moquett said. "I mean, if I walk over there and a bandage has shifted a little bit, there are about a hundred things that could go wrong, so I'm going to head off whatever that could be."
It's the same with all of his horses, Moquett said. There is no special treatment reserved for Far Right. He pointed to an Arkansas bred in the stall next to Far Right's named Mean Bone.
"They all get my best," Moquett said. "With me, the horses always come first. This means a lot to me because I have so much love and respect for these horses.
"Far Right is obviously worth a lot monetarily, but he's not a commodity to me. I don't think I could do this if he was, or if any of these horses were."
Sports on 04/11/2015