by JOHN MUCCIOLO
Five sophomores will go to post in Monday’s $150,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park. This Listed stakes is the first of an ever-important series for three-year-old Triple Crown hopefuls that are held at the Hot Springs, Arkansas, venue each season.
The field for the 2018 edition of this race looks intriguing with more than half of the cast represented by runners from the powerful barns of Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert, and I wonder if we will witness a future star as this race has proven more than capable of producing one. While it’s just a Listed event in mid-January, this contest has given us some fine ones of over the past 10 years.
The 2009 hero was Flat Out. The son of Flatter didn’t peak in his three-year-old campaign but did go on to become one of the better race horses over the past decade. The Florida-bred had a fine career with 29 races while amassing more than $3.6 million in earnings and impressively earned back-to-back wins in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in 2011 and 2012 and capped his career with a stylish victory in the 2013 Cigar Mile (G1) over a fantastic field.
2011 star Caleb’s Posse rolled home late to win the Smarty Jones in his seasonal bow, and capped his year with a pair of Grade 1 tallies, including a mammoth four-length win in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Churchill Downs. The son of Posse was one of the better sprinter/miler types of his generation.
Will Take Charge was best in this race in his 2013 debut and concluded the year as a dual Grade 1 victor, as well as champion three-year-old for D. Wayne Lukas. The well-bred son of Unbridled’s Song was best in the Travers (G1) that campaign while also taking the Pennsylvania Derby (G2) and Clark H. (G1). In addition, he fell just a nose shy in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). In 2014, the colt was second in the Donn H. (G1), Santa Anita H. (G1) and Stephen Foster H. (G1), too, proving his class.
I am not saying that the next Flat Out, Caleb’s Posse or Will Take Charge will exit this race, but there is surely potential in this field.
Baffert’s MOURINHO is a $625,000 son of Super Saver who has flashed a ton of speed and ability from a trio of lifetime performances. The Kentucky-bred colt puts the blinkers back on Monday and could be a very good one when he finds his niche.
Asmussen will saddle the duo of Springboard Mile second COMBATANT and Bourbon S. (G3) third TAP DADDY, and each has shown an affinity for racing. The son of Scat Daddy could evolve into serious horses in 2018, starting in this spot.
It’s early in the year, but the Smarty Jones is worth staying awake for.
