Strong Mandate, Dunkin Bend please trainers with Southwest
moves
Hot Springs has been very fortunate this winter compared to
the rest of the country, but it could not escape another round of Artic air that
closed Oaklawn’s track for training Tuesday and delayed the opening Wednesday
until 10 a.m. (CST).
Several trainers, aware of the weather, sent their horses to the
track Monday for workouts, including Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas who
sent his Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest hopeful Strong Mandate out for a bullet workout.
The bay son of Tiznow covered five furlongs in 1:00
2/5, the fastest of 60 at the distance. It was his fourth work this year as he
prepares to make his seasonal debut in the February 17 Southwest. Strong Mandate,
who won the Hopeful at Saratoga last September, has not started
since closing out his two-year-old campaign with a third-place finish in the Breeders’
Cup Juvenile on November 2.
“In light of the track surface and the way the track was playing that day, I was
very impressed,” Lukas said. “His gallop out was extremely strong. He got the
fastest time of the day and I couldn’t have been any happier with how he went.”
Also working toward the Southwest Monday was Dunkin Bend, now
in the hands of trainer Brad Cox. The Dunkirk colt, who most recently finished
second in the Big Drama at Delta Downs on January 4, clocked a half-mile in :49
4/5.
His biggest win as a two-year-old came last September when he captured the Sapling at Monmouth Park.
After closing out the year with two
off-the-board performances, Dunkin Bend appears to be rounding back into that form.
“He hadn’t had a work since his race at Delta, so we gave him an easy half-mile
maintenance work and he’ll go five-eighths next week,” Cox explained. “He’s
being pointed toward the Southwest for his next start.”
Trainer Cody Autrey, who has gotten off to a fast start with 10 wins over the
first 12 days of racing at Oaklawn, could have two starters in the Southwest with Smarty
Jones winner Tanzanite Cat and his regular workmate Paganonl, who broke his
maiden in impressive fashion at Oaklawn on January 11. Paganol moved one step closer
to his stakes debut by turning four furlongs in :50 1/5 Monday.
“It was a nice rhythm for an easy half mile,” Autrey noted. “We had to move back
the work a day because of the weather. We’ll definitely get more serious over
the next couple of weeks as we get closer to the race.”
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