BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Strategic Risk, a nine-length winner of the $300,000 In Reality Stakes, the final leg of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owner’s Association Florida Sire Stakes on Nov. 29 at Gulfstream Park, worked a half mile at Oaklawn Park Saturday morning in preparation for the $250,000 Smarty Jones to be run Jan. 3 at the Hot Springs, Arkansas oval.
The Florida-bred son of Noble Bird trained by Mark Casse and owned by John C. Oxley, was clocked in :48.60, the 22nd fastest four-furlongs among 126 moves at the distance.
The Smarty Jones is for 3-year-olds at a mile-and-a-sixteenth and is the first of four qualifying races for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) run at Oaklawn Park. It will offer 21 Kentucky Derby leaderboard points to the first five finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis. Entries will be taken and post positions drawn for the Smarty Jones on Sunday, Dec. 28.
Strategic Risk arrived at Oaklawn early Monday morning with unbeaten stablemate Ewing and both are under the supervision of Casse’s Oaklawn-based assistant Cade Arthur. Arthur told the Oaklawn press office Friday that Casse also plans to start Silent Tactic in the Smarty Jones.
A winner of two of five starts with one third and earnings of $253,550, Strategic Risk broke his maiden by eight-and-a-quarter lengths on debut against Florida-bred maiden special weight company at Gulfstream on June 7. Casse then took him to Saratoga Race Course where he was fourth in the Grade 3 Sanford in July and sixth in the Grade 3 With Anticipation on the grass in August. He returned to Florida to finish last of 11 in the $200,000 Affirmed, the second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes, in October before rebounding with a strong victory in the In Reality.
In addition to Saturday’s work, he breezed four furlongs in :48.25, the fifth fastest of 76 works at the distance at Palm Meadows Training Center on Dec. 13; and went four furlongs in :49 flat at Casse Training Center in Ocala on Dec. 19, third fastest of nine works.
“[Casse] said he’s been training great. He looks great,” Arthur said Friday morning.
Strategic Risk is out of Strategize, by Alfeet Alex and was bred in Florida by John C. Oxley Living Trust. He is a half-brother to Florida-bred stakes winner Strategic Bird, winner of the 2021 Sandpiper at Tampa Bay Downs.
Previous Florida-bred winners of the Smarty Jones include Flat Out in 2009 and Tanzanite Cat in 2014.
Return to the December 27 issue of Wire to Wire
