Far Right road included detour

In the end it was American Pharoah who stole the 3-year-old show at Oaklawn Park, with his dominating victories in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, but the first headlines out 0f Hot Springs on the road to the Kentucky Derby were dominated by a colt owned and trained by Arkansans.

Far Right, purchased last July by Little Rock investment banker Harry Rosenblum, was handed to trainer Ron Moquett, a Fort Smith native, and after some successes the two men, along with co-owner Bob LaPenta, started plotting a course that would take them to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for today's 141st running of the Kentucky Derby.

That path included running in -- and winning -- the Smarty Jones and Southwest Stakes, the first two legs of Oaklawn's series for Kentucky Derby hopefuls, but skipping the Grade II $750,000 Rebel Stakes on March 14.

"I told Ron I thought it would be too much to run the first two races and the Rebel," said Rosenblum, who also floated the plan by LaPenta. "I asked Bob about it and he said, 'Harry, you're driving the bus.' He was totally agreeable to our plan."

Moquett said it came down to doing what was best to get to Louisville in the best shape possible.

"Basically what we did was say what's our goal, and then from that point on it was how can we get there,'' Moquett said.

The decision to skip the Rebel left Far Right, who was 19th in the points standings, work to do in the Arkansas Derby to guarantee a spot in the Derby, which he accomplished with a second-place finish, 8 lengths behind American Pharoah and just ahead of Mr. Z.

Mr. Z also secured a start today with his Arkansas Derby result, giving three of this season's Oaklawn mainstays spots in the Kentucky Derby.

American Pharoah is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the field of 19, which has picked up one horse since Wednesday's draw -- Nick-Zito-trained Frammento -- while losing Stanford (trainer's decision) and El Kabeir (foot) from the body of the race.

American Pharoah, No. 18, will break from the 17th post after the scratch of Stanford.

Far Right, listed at 30-1 on the morning line, will wear saddle cloth 20 but break from post 19.

Mr. Z, listed at 50-1, will wear No. 17 while breaking rom post 16.

Far Right will be ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who rode Far Right in each of his three races at Oaklawn after taking note of Far Right's ability last summer and fall.

Smith's thoughts about Far Right were reinforced after riding against him in the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot, a race that Smith won aboard Ocho Ocho Ocho, and he told Rosenblum and Moquett that he was interested in a chance to ride him.

Rosenblum was interested in Smith from the start.

"I told Ron about a week before Christmas that I was going to call Mike and tell him I want a two-race commitment, for the Smarty Jones and the Southwest," he said. "I called and he said yes.''

Rosenblum and Moquett thought Far Right had Derby potential from the time they acquired him, but Moquett said it was the Delta Jackpot that convinced him to start mapping out a plan to get to Louisville.

Far Right trailed by as many as 10 lengths early, but midway down the backstretch made what had the makings of a winning move. Jockey Corey Lanarie directed Far Right up the rail as the field headed into the final turn and was looking for the lead until Ocho Ocho Ocho, with Smith riding, got in his way.

Far Right stumbled and fell back, then recovered to finish third behind Ocho Ocho Ocho and Mr. Z.

"Up until then, for me it was all basically hypothesis," Moquett said. "We knew if we could get him relaxed and running he would finish very stout. Until then it was just an educated guess, but that day we proved the theory, and that's when it kind of got exciting."

"When he came picking up horses, he was flying, but then Ocho Ocho Ocho cut off our horse," Rosenblum said. "He had to be held up, fell off 4 or 5 lengths. Most horses would've quit, but he didn't. He just came running again.

"That impressed a lot of people. It showed how game and determined the horse was."

Moquett and Rosenblum met a few days later at Oaklawn, where Far Right was already stabled, to discuss the colt's game plan going forward. LaPenta, who owns a one-third share of Far Right, was on the phone with Rosenblum.

This was when they decided, assuming all went well, to enter Far Right in the Smarty Jones and Southwest but to skip the Rebel Stakes before the Arkansas Derby, all the while with their sights set on Kentucky.

"We came up with a way to do that and it worked out perfect," said Moquett, who describes Rosenblum as a "hand's-on" owner but one who allows his trainers ultimate say.

"He's always around back there, but he always lets the horse make the decisions, and I speak for the horse," Moquett said.

Far Right, the first Derby starter for Moquett and Rosenblum, has given them an inside look at the Derby week experience, which has been been an eye-opener for both.

"I couldn't believe the amount of press here," Moquett said from his barn at Churchill Downs. "I figured I'd get interviewed, but never in a million years did I think I'd get interviewed this much by so many different people. I mean, I just stepped away from the Wall Street Journal. They're waiting on me now.

"And the other thing is, at 8 a.m. on a weekday, there are 30,000 people back here. I'm not kidding. Just to give the horse a bath, I literally have to clear a path from the barn to the wash rack."

"This is a really, really special time," Rosenblum said. "When you're out there watching your horse with your trainer and all of the other Derby horses are out there, it's pretty special. It's sort of an emotional thing, because there are a lot of ups and downs in this business."

Today Moquett and Rosenblum will get to walk with Far Right, along the connections of the 18 other entrants, from the barn to the paddock at Churchill Downs. They'll soak up the excitement, then hope for the best.

"It's no secret," Moquett said. "We're going to have to get a good trip, but whoever wins this race is going to have to get that. We know that if everything works our way, we're going to be one of the horses who could win it."

"He needs to run his race, and it's going to have to be an A-plus race," Smith said. "He's looked brilliant across this track. It's a fast track, and we expect a fast track Saturday. But Far Right never quits trying, so no matter what the track's like he'll give it his best."

Many handicappers believe the only way Far Right can win is if the pace is so fast the early leaders and favorites crumble heading into the stretch to set the stage for a closer, like Giacomo, who won at 50-1 odds with Smith aboard in 2005.

Rosenblum said Far Right, despite his long odds, has a clear chance.

"If we didn't think we had a shot to win, we wouldn't be in the race," he said. "We're going over there knowing that if things set up just right for us we can win this race."

Sports on 05/02/2015