Aaron previews the 2024 Southwest Stakes (G3) from Oaklawn Park, then gives his top picks from this Kentucky Derby (G1) prep race.
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The press release:
A full field of 12 3-year-olds was entered Sunday for Oaklawn Park’s 8 ½-furlong $800,000 G3 Southwest Stakes, which will anchor a 12-race card Saturday, Feb. 3, that begins with a special early first post time of 11:30 a.m. CST.
The Southwest Stakes, along with three additional stakes races on the card, was postponed one week because of winter weather. The Southwest Stakes will offer 42 qualifying points to the top five finishers (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby. Probable post time for the Southwest Stakes, the 11th race, is 4:50 p.m.
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Southwest Stakes entrants from the rail out:
- Maycocks Bay (for trainer Michael Stidham)
- Charleston (Jinks Fires)
- Magic Grant (Eddie Milligan Jr.)
- Otto the Conqueror (Steve Asmussen)
- Wynstock (Bob Baffert)
- Liberal Arts (Robbie Medina)
- Carbone (Asmussen)
- Common Defense (Kenny McPeek)
- Linebacker (Jordan Blair)
- Mystik Dan (McPeek)
- Just Steel (D. Wayne Lukas)
- Awesome Road (Brad Cox)
Wynstock exits a victory in the $200,000 G2-Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16 at Los Alamitos. Baffert is seeking his record-extending seventh Southwest victory after winning its last two runnings with Newgrange in 2022 and Arabian Knight last year.
Cox has won six of Oaklawn’s last 13 Kentucky Derby points races, including the $300,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1. Awesome Road hasn’t started since finishing fifth as the favorite in the $400,000 G2-Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs.
Maycocks Bay and Common Defense were supplemental nominees.
In addition to the Southwest, the 1 1/16-miles $250,000 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, $150,000 King Cotton Stakes for older sprinters and $150,000 American Beauty Stakes for older female sprinters will be run Feb. 3.
The Martha Washington offers 42 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks.
Those races were also postponed one week because of winter weather.
