HOT SPRINGS -- Many in the racing world will cast an interested eye on Oaklawn Park's eighth race today, especially those keen on indentifying the top 3-year-old contenders on the 2016 road to the Kentucky Derby.
The ninth running of the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes gives 13 prospects an early chance to assert themselves at the two-turn, 1-mile distance while racing for a chance to earn 10 points, with a victory, in the Road to the Derby standings.
Two of the last three Smarty Jones winners -- Far Right and Will Take Charge -- have made it to the gate in Louisville, Ky., on the first Saturday in May.
The overflow field includes the 9-5 morning-line favorite Toews on Ice, another Bob Baffert trainee with a name sure to torment spell-check software, just as American Pharoah did a year ago.
Baffert shipped American Pharoah from California to Oaklawn last year for dominant victories in the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby, and went on to train owner Ahmed Zayat's colt to victories in every race required for thoroughbred superstardom. American Pharoah became the first winner of racing's Triple Crown since 1978 with victories in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, and in the end capped his career with victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic last October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.
Toews on Ice won three of six starts as a 2-year-old, including a victory at 7 furlongs in the Grade III Bob Hopes Stakes at Del Mar in San Diego on Nov. 14. He was second in his most recent start, the Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 19, but horsemen at Oaklawn sound confident that Baffert's entrant will face a much more competitive field in the Smarty Jones.
"It's one of those races that's going to be a handicapper's nightmare," said trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will start Gray Sky in the Smarty Jones. "They're very evenly matched, and it will probably come down to who has the best trip."
"There are some nice horses in the race," said Jinks Fires, trainer of Discreetness, listed third on the morning line at 6-1 . "It's not going to be a walkover for any horse."
Lukas trained Mr. Z to a third-place finish in last year's Smarty Jones, won by Far Right. Both colts raced in the Kentucky Derby.
Far Right trainer Ron Moquett said his best hope for a successful trip on this season's Road to the Derby is Whitmore, a gelded son of Pleasantly Perfect who won an entry-level allowance race at Oaklawn on Saturday in his third career start. Moquett also entered Whitmore in the Smarty Jones, but he said the crowded field encouraged him to run Whitmore at 6 furlongs on Saturday. Whitmore responded with a 31/4-length victory in 1:10.57, an effort that pleased Moquett.
Count Moquett among the more interested observers of today's feature.
"I'll look at it because I want to see the horses we'll compete against," Moquett said. "I want them all to go out there and run well and come back safe and sound, and then I want to see how we match up and start plotting to overthrow them if I can.
"I don't think Baffert has them over the barrel like he usually does. I think it's going to be a fun race, just like it always is."
One colt to watch is Synchrony, trained by Donnie K. Von Hemel, who is the morning-line second choice at 9-2.
"At this time of year, there are a lot of horses out there that have shown promise, and now's the time to find out who's going to step up and become one of those very good horses," Von Hemel said. "I think Synchrony has the potential to do that, but he still has to go out there and do it."
Synchrony, a son of the noted sire Tapit, has won 2 of 3 career starts, including his last at 7 1/2 furlongs on Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs.
This will be his first race around two turns.
"When he first came to the racetrack, he was a horse that moved well," Von Hemel said. "As his training progressed, he did show some talent in the morning, and now he's run three times and run well all three times."
Discreetness has won 3 of 5 starts, highlighted by his victory in the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park in Oklahoma City on Dec. 13.
"As the old saying goes, I think the proof's in the pudding, but we think he has a lot of potential," Fires said of the Discreet Cat colt. "He's going to get better as he goes, but we're not sure how good he'll be yet."
Fires, 75, began his training career in 1966 and has had one horse race in the Kentucky Derby, the 2011 Arkansas Derby winner Archarcharch. Fires' son-in-law Jon Court was Archarcharch's jockey, and has ridden Discreetness in his past three starts. He is scheduled to ride Discreetness today.
"He's been moving forward through some prestigious races, and I'm excited to see what the future holds," Court said. "We're hoping that he can take us back on the Derby path."
Terry Thompson, scheduled to ride Gray Sky for Lukas, echoes Court's statement.
"It's exciting to be able to be on a horse that's on the Derby trail," Thompson said. "We just hope that everything falls into place. Wayne always gets me pumped up, and it's always exciting to be out there on a good horse, but when you're out there on what they hope becomes a super horse, it's really exciting."
Sports on 01/18/2016