Southwest is proving ground for Jake Mo, King Coral

Leading trainer Allen Milligan instituted some new programs for his pair of

three-year-old hopefuls in both divisions of Monday's Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.

Jake Mo is coming off a fourth-place effort in the Smarty

Jones Stakes after contesting the early pace, while King Coral will try a

new running style after falling too far behind in the same race and finishing

ninth.

For Jake Mo, a son of 2005 Kentucky Derby-winner Giacomo, Milligan has been

doing some more coaching since last month's party.

"I've trained him a little harder this time," said Milligan, moments after

collecting his meet-leading 13th victory Sunday afternoon. "I left him a little

bit short for his last race, so we've been pushing him harder to make sure that

doesn't happen again. He's training super. He's the best he's ever been."

Jake Mo won the Prairie Gold Juvenile last July in Iowa and eventually raced his way to a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint. He will

face the winner of that race, Secret Circle, in his division of the one-mile

contest and both have to answer questions about their ability in two-turn races.

Milligan will look for Jake Mo's speed to help him and jockey Cliff Berry answer

those questions.

"We're just going to let Cliffy send him away from there and see who wants to

go with us," Milligan said. "If they don't want to go with us, we'll try and slow it

down. If they do, we will take our chances and see how far we can go."

King Coral has more experience in two-turn races like the Southwest largely

because his running style has usually seen him falling back and making a

grinding, closing move. That will change under Martin Escobar if it goes

according to Milligan's new plan.

"We're going to try and put him in the race a little earlier," Milligan

said of the Limehouse colt.

"I think he's just getting too far out of it and he's just getting discouraged.

We will try and get him into the race, although I wish he was in the side Jake

got. The pace might fit him a little better in there, but that's just the way it

goes, I guess."

In other Southwest news, Unbridled's Note and Longview Drive have been boon

companions ever since boarding a plane in California early Tuesday morning, flying and stalled side-by-side all week at Oaklawn. They will have

to split up at some point Monday as each shoots for the same division of the

one-mile contest.

Longview Drive is coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at

Santa Anita on January 7 in his 2012 return to action for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry

Hollendorfer. The chestnut son of Pulpit drew post five in the 8TH race, the first of two divisions

of the key prep for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby.

Unbridled's Note, on the other hand, will attempt to win the Southwest in just his second career

start for trainer Steve Asmussen. The son of Unbridled's Song captured his debut at Churchill Downs in

November and has been training with Asmussen's Southern California string this winter.

Unbridled's Note will team with jockey Julien Leparoux, who has

already had a winning road trip for Asmussen, taking Saturday's Grade 3 El

Camino Real Derby aboard Daddy Nose Best at Golden Gate Fields.

Daddy Nose Best and Unbridled's Note worked together on the same morning

in their last two drills, with both getting six furlongs in 1:12 1/5 on February 6.

Most recently, Unbridled's Note got a half-mile in :49 while Daddy Nose Best clocked

:50 3/5 on February 13.