HOT SPRINGS -- Uncontested went unimpeded on his second step along the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Jockey Channing Hill put Uncontested on the lead 80 yards out of the gate on a sloppy racetrack and kept it with each ensuing stride of the $150,000 1-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Monday.
Uncontested won by 5¼ lengths in 1:36.32. In nine previous runnings, no Smarty Jones winner had run faster than 1:38.
Petrov, ridden by Jose Ortiz, was second, 4½ lengths clear of third-place finisher Rowdy the Warrior, who finished 2¼ lengths ahead of Warrior's Club.
"The winner was very impressive," said Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, trainer of Warrior's Club. "The track probably didn't make any difference to him one way or the other, but I thought our horse struggled a little bit with it."
Uncontested, the 6-5 favorite in the eighth-horse field, never gave trainer Wayne Catalano a nervous moment, though the sloppy conditions created an extra layer of uncertainty.
"Everything went as planned," Catalano said. "You're always a little concerned with an off racetrack, but he's handled it before, and he was all right with it. Still, you hate to see an off track for everybody, but it worked out. Sometimes it rains on the first Saturday in May, so we better be ready."
An estimated crowd of 9,500 watched at the track, and countless others at off-track sites, as Uncontested, a son of Tiz Wonderful, glided through a muddy opening quarter of 23.03 with long shots Romeo O Romeo and Love that Lute in pursuit.
Petrov, by Flatter, was 1½ lengths back in second when Uncontested passed the half-mile in 46.21. The margin remained the same through 6 furlongs in 1:10.70 as the top two began to pull away from the field.
Uncontested earned 10 of 17 available Road to the Derby points in the Smarty Jones. If more than 20 horses are entered in the Kentucky Derby, post positions go to the 20 horses with the most points.
Uncontested, who earned 1 point for a fourth-place finish at Churchill's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 26, is currently fourth in the standings with 11 points.
Ortiz, rider of Petrov, said he hoped another entrant would have contested Uncontested's easy lead.
"We had a perfect trip, just like we wanted," Ortiz said. "We put him behind the leader like we wanted, but nobody went with Uncontested. He was just cruising, going fast, and that's probably why nobody went with him.
"He was doing it by himself. But I think the horse that won, he's a really nice horse. My horse was second best today, but everything went well. He felt great. You know, first time going two turns, hopefully he'll move forward."
Petrov trainer Ron Moquett saw the race much as Ortiz did.
"Today everything went Uncontested's way," Moquett said. "We'll see if it goes that way next time, but he's a great horse, a nice horse. Today was his day. It could've been someone went up there and pressed him, and then it would've been our day, but today it was his day. I'm happy for them."
Petrov's start in the Smarty Jones was the third of his career and his first longer than 6 furlongs.
"It was his first time around two turns, his first time in slop," Moquett said.
Oaklawn's Road to Derby series continues on Monday, Feb. 20, with the running of the Grade III $500,000 Southwest Stakes at 1 1/16th miles. The $900,000 Grade II Rebel follows on March 18, with the $1 million Arkansas Derby finishing things off on April 15, the final date of the meet.
Trainer Catalano did not say whether Uncontested would point to the Southwest, but jockey Hill said he took nothing for granted Monday, even with the large lead.
"He doesn't lollygag, but he can get a little lazy on you," Hill said. "He was still moving forward, but I just gave him a few taps as a reminder about what we were doing today, and he absolutely cruised from there."
Sports on 01/17/2017