Just like that, Petalino takes in Derby prospect

J P’s Gusto, with exercise rider Israel Alvarado aboard, works out Thursday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. J P’s Gusto will make his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest Stakes on Monday.
J P’s Gusto, with exercise rider Israel Alvarado aboard, works out Thursday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. J P’s Gusto will make his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest Stakes on Monday.

— The way trainer Joe Petalino sees it, there’s no pressure having the favorite for Monday’s $250,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Petalino will saddle J P’s Gusto for his 3-year-old debut in the Southwest, a major local prep for the $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby on April 16.

J P’s Gusto - on paper - towers over his opponents after winning 4 of 8 starts last year, including the Grade I Del Mar Futurity, and earning $527,360.

But the 1-mile Southwest will mark his first start for Petalino, Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 2000 who unexpectedly received the horse earlier this month.

J P’s Gusto previously had been trained in California by David Hofmans.

“There really isn’t any pressure,” Petalino said. “If he wins, Hofmans has been training him. If he gets beat, Hofmans has been training him. That’s the way it should go. If he loses, it should be that way. But they’ll throw rocks at me.”

Hofmans ditched J P’s Gusto because of the racing schedule owner John Waken desired for the horse.

In his last start, J P’s Gusto finished second in the $750,000 Grade I Cash Call Futurity on Dec. 18 at Hollywood Park in suburban Los Angeles.

Waken wanted to launch the horse’s 3-year-old campaign in the Southwest.

Hofmans didn’t.

Benefiting from the difference of opinion was Petalino, who had a horse for Wakenlast summer.

“If he ran well in the Cash Call, this is the way they wanted to come,” Petalino said.

Petalino said J P’s Gusto continues to adapt well to his new surroundings since arriving in Hot Springs on Feb. 9 - the same day a major winter storm struck Arkansas.

J P’s Gusto worked threequarters of mile in 1:15 on Monday morning, in preparation for the Southwest.

“It wasn’t outstanding,” Petalino said, referring to the time.

“But what he did, he did easily.

He covered the ground easy.”

J P’s Gusto will be ridden for the first time by Ramon Dominguez, last year’s Eclipse Award winner as the country’s top jockey.

All but one of J P’s Gusto’s starts have come on synthetic surfaces.

The only start on dirt, and outside California, resulted in a sixth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

“He’s pretty fit,” Petalino said of the son of Successful Appeal. “He’s fit enough that ’ll believe he’ll fire pretty big in there. He should have enough class that he’ll be OK.”

Other probables for the Southwest are Caleb’s Posse, Alternation, Bluegrass Bull, Archarcharch, Elite Alex, Yankee Passion, Grant Jack, Brickyard Fast, Derivative and Bonaroo.

Sports, Pages 26 on 02/19/2011

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