HOT SPRINGS -- The winner looked ready to move forward, a necessity in January for any horse to continue on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
Shortleaf Stable's Caddo River, ridden by Florent Geroux, won the $150,000 1-mile Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-old Kentucky Derby hopefuls by 10 1/4 lengths over second-place Cowan in a seven-horse field before an opening-day crowd estimated at 2,750.
Until further notice, attendance at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort will be limited by restrictions put in place to protect fans, horsemen, staff, and essential workers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Caddo River's winning time was 1:38.19.
Alex and Joann Lieblong's Big Thorn finished third, 17 1/2 lengths behind the winner, and Sonata Stable's Moonlite Strike finished fourth, a neck behind Big Thorn.
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The Smarty Jones is the first of four races at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort to offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points. It offered 10 to the winner and 4, 2, and 1 to second through fourth, respectively.
Caddo River, a Hard Spun colt trained by Brad Cox was third from the gate at 3-5, behind Cowan and Hardly Swayed, the longest shot in the field at 57-1.
Caddo River led Hardly Swayed by a length through the opening quarter-mile in 23.12. Moonlite Strike was another length back in third. Martini Blu, trained by Mac Robertson, was in fourth, 2 lengths off the lead in fourth.
"He broke very alertly," Geroux said. "Very nice and relaxed. You want to see these type horses doing it the right way. It's easy to go to the lead and keep on going. You want them to relax and do everything right."
Cowan, the 9-5 morning-line favorite trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., was a half length behind Martini Blu.
Caddo River's seemingly relaxed march continued down the backstretch. His half-mile in 47.16 left him with a 1-length lead over Hardly Swayed. Moonlite Strike remained in third, Martini Blu in fourth, with Cowan still in fifth, 3 1/2 lengths behind the eventual winner.
In his last previous start, Caddo River went through three-quarters in a 1-mile maiden special-weight race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in 1:09.40 on Nov. 15. His first win came by 9 1/2 lengths.
Caddo River ran three-quarters in the Smarty Jones in 1:12.42. Hardly Swayed had faded to sixth, 10 1/2 lengths back. Cowan had moved up to third, 3 1/2 lengths off the lead.
By the head of the stretch, Caddo River was in clear command. He led by 6 lengths with momentum in hand. Cowan was second, with Big Thorn, a son of The Big Beast also trained by Asmussen, in third, 10 1/2 lengths behind Caddo River. Moonlite Strike was fourth, 10 lengths off the lead but would drop another 7 3/4 lengths over the final eighth of a mile.
"[Cowan] ran good," Santana, Jr., said. "I think the longer he goes, the better he's going to be. The winner is a nice horse."
Even in a short field, Big Thorn was troubled by traffic. He ran four-wide through the final turn.
"Caught a little rough trip," Big Thorn's jockey David Cabrera said. "We were a little wide. He finished up pretty good. He finished up running. Got third, anyway."
Caddo River seemed unstressed through the finish.
The next Kentucky Derby points race at Oaklawn is the Grade III 1 1/16th-mile Southwest Stakes on Feb. 15, followed by the Grade II 1- 1/16th-mile Rebel Stakes on March 13, and the Grade I 1 1/8th- mile Arkansas Derby.
"He did everything perfect," Geroux said. "The distance doesn't look like it's going to be a problem. Very excited about what's coming up ahead of us with him. Looks like he can run all day, which is a good problem. Hopefully, we go on, go up the stepping stones, and have a nice horse for the first Saturday in May."
