Old Fashioned Debuts in Southwest Stakes

by Patricia Woo | Feb 9 2009

One of the biggest Kentucky Derby prep races this month is the $250,000 Gr. 3 Southwest Stakes, which will take place on Presidents Day, Feb. 16 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. This 1-mile race will feature several prominent Kentucky Derby hopefuls, and horse bettors will get a preview of how their favorite contender could fare come the first Saturday in May. Among the horses to watch are Old Fashioned, Silver City and Flat Out - and all are known for their speed.

After an attention-grabbing 7 1/4-length win in the Gr. 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct on Nov. 29 and earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 100, Old Fashioned has risen to the top of many horse bettors' lists of Kentucky Derby contenders. Trained by Larry Jones, Old Fashioned is a son of Unbridled's Song with a penchant for opening up a big lead - and drawing away. In his second race, he blew away the allowance field competition by 15 1/2 at Delaware Park on Nov. 3. So expectations are high for this 3-year-old colt, who was bought for $800,000 by Fox Hill Farms at the Keeneland yearling sale in September. After arriving at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 3, Old Fashioned posted a bullet half-mile workout in 48.40 and may have one more prep before the race. Regular rider Ramon Dominguez has the mount.

Trainer Bret Calhoun has a promising colt under his supervision in Silver City, who earned an impressive Beyer Speed Figure of 99 in his four-length $50,000 Dixieland win at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 16 in his stakes race debut. "We've been extremely high on him for a long time, and it's nice to see it work out that way," Calhoun said. Silver City is also a son of Unbridled's Song and should be Old Fashioned's main competition.

After routing all rivals in the $50,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 19 at Oaklawn Park over 1 mile with a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 87, Flat Out will be taking on a higher level of competition in the Southwest Stakes. Though the Charles L. Dickey trainee looked impressive in his second career outing, kicking into higher gear when asked and then cruising to victory, the Southwest Stakes will be a good indicator if this Flatter colt is a true Kentucky Derby contender.

Also expected are Poltergeist, who earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95 in an allowance win at Oaklawn Park, as well as Silver Bayer and Gresham, who finished second and third in the Smarty Jones Stakes behind Flat Out.

The Southwest Stakes lost a bit of its luster with Square Eddie's withdrawal due to injury. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up suffered a sore shin after a workout at Hollywood Park on Feb. 2, an injury that not only cost the Doug O'Neill-trained colt his first race on a dirt track but may derail his Kentucky Derby plans entirely.

Last year, Denis of Cork won the Southwest Stakes on his way to a third-place finish at the 2008 Kentucky Derby and a runner-up performance in the Belmont Stakes. Who will win the Southwest Stakes in 2009?

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