Barn Notes 1/24/25

Compiled by Robert Yates

Trainer Brad Cox had several options for lightly raced Patch Adams’ debut in a Kentucky Derby qualifying race.

Cox opted for the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn. The 1 1/16-miles Southwest will mark the 3-year-old debut for Patch Adams, an Into Mischief colt who races for his breeder, WinStar Farm, and China Horse Club.

“The timing was good,” WinStar president/CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden said Tuesday afternoon. “Brad wanted to give him a break after the maiden race at Churchill. Just let him grow up and see if he’s good enough to get on the Derby trail. He’s definitely fast enough. So, we wanted to pick out a race that had good timing and that race, the Southwest, is good timing from his last race and also what would be his next race if he were to run good.”

Patch Adams was an odds-on favorite in both 2024 starts.

He debuted with a third-place finish at six furlongs Oct. 11 at Keeneland, then demolished maiden special weight runners Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. Stretching out to seven furlongs, Patch Adams won by 10 ½ lengths and received a robust 98 Beyer Speed Figure. His time of 1:20.77 over a fast-rated surface narrowly missed two-time champion Groupie Doll’s track record (1:20.44).

Patch Adams, who removed blinkers for his second start, has been a forward factor in his brief racing career. Highly regarded despite a limited resume (Patch Adams is the 5-2 second choice in the program), he will be ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, a 2024 Eclipse Award winner as the country’s outstanding jockey.

Southern California-based Gaming is the 2-1 program favorite for the Southwest. A Grade 1 winner and finalist for champion 2-year-old male, Gaming will also be making his 3-year-old debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has won the Southwest a record six times.

While Oaklawn-based Southwest entrants continue to have training interrupted because of winter weather, Patch Adams has been training steadily at Payson Park in south Florida, where he has a series of bullet workouts in preparation for his two-turn debut.

“He’s had a great rhythm,” Walden said. “He’s had a great work pattern. I think Bob, coming from California, has a similar advantage when he comes to Oaklawn. I think of this as probably something to our advantage.”

Walden said he’s optimistic Patch Adams can carry his speed around two turns, noting he’s from the family of Well Armed, a WinStar homebred who captured the 2009 Dubai World Cup (G1) at about 1 ¼ miles.

“I don’t anticipate it to be a problem,” Walden said. “But until you do it, you never know, I guess.”

The Southwest is Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races, a series that continues with the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 22 and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) March 29.

WinStar won the 2016 Arkansas Derby with Creator, 2017 Southwest, in partnership, with One Liner and last year’s Rebel, in partnership, with Timberlake. Walden, as a trainer, won the 1998 Rebel and Arkansas Derby with champion Victory Gallop.

Walden said Patch Adams is named for the 1998 movie of the same name starring comedian Robin Williams. The dam of Patch Adams is Well Humored.

Bacon’s Seven-Figure Ride

Apprentice jockey Tyer Bacon rode his first career race Oct. 27, 2023, at Columbus in Nebraska. The purse was $6,500.

Saturday at Oaklawn, Bacon will ride in his first career graded stakes race, the $1 million Southwest (G3) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

“Unbelievable,” Bacon, 17, said Thursday afternoon. “That’s serious money.”

Bacon will ride American Promise in the Southwest for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, 89. Bacon is Oaklawn’s leading apprentice rider this season with 11 victories.

Four of Bacon’s victories at the meeting have been for Lukas, including a front-running maiden special weight score aboard American Promise at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 29.

“I really didn’t think he was going to keep me on the horse,” Bacon said. “It’s an honor to ride for him and I’m glad he kept me on the horse.”

American Promise, son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, will be making his stakes and 3-year-old debut in the Southwest. Five of his six starts have been at one mile or 1 1/16 miles.

“I think he has a really good chance,” Bacon said. “There’s some tough horses in there, but he’s a really nice horse himself.”

American Promise (6-1 on the morning line) is among 10 horses entered in the Southwest.

Lukas also entered Bon Temps (30-1), a three-race maiden who finished fourth in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 4 at Oaklawn.

A Magic Man

Riding a two-race winning streak, Monet’s Magic makes his stakes and 3-year-old debut in the $1 million Southwest

Stakes (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn. The Southwest is Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races.

Monet’s Magic has won his last two starts – a one-mile allowance Dec. 29 at Oaklawn and a 1 1/16-miles maiden special weight race Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. Kentucky-based Ben Colebrook trains Monet’s Magic (15-1 on the morning line) for Midway Racing Stable.

“I think with him, what I like best, is that he’s improving at the right time,” Colebrook said. “He’s still a little green. He’s figuring things out slowly. That’s kind of just been him. But he’s not limited by distance. I think the (farther) the better. We were a little bit worried that a mile might be a little short the last race and he overcame that, so that was big.”

Colebrook said he has eight stalls at Oaklawn in 2024-2025, his first season to winter in Hot Springs.