Patch Adams brings high hopes into Southwest; Quietside tops Martha Washington

Jan 20, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Patch Adams ran away from his Churchill Downs maiden rivals

Patch Adams ran away from his Churchill Downs maiden rivals (Photo by Coady Media)

Last year, Mystik Dan romped in the Southwest (G3) en route to his thrilling win in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Might we see the 151st Derby winner in Saturday’s $1 million renewal at Oaklawn Park?

Patch Adams, last seen demolishing a Churchill Downs maiden, makes his eagerly anticipated stakes debut in the Southwest. The Brad Cox trainee will take his first class test against Road to the Kentucky Derby veteran Gaming, a Southern California shipper for six-time Southwest winner Bob Baffert.

One race earlier, the $300,000 Martha Washington S. features the return of Quietside, who has been mixing it up in top company on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Both the Southwest and Martha Washington are 1 1/16-mile events worth points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the top five finishers.

Southwest (G3)

Patch Adams has been dispatched as the odds-on favorite in both of his starts. The royally-bred son of Into Mischief was a promising third in his unveiling at Keeneland, but a totally different proposition next time out.

Taking the blinkers off at Churchill, Patch Adams forced the pace before drawing off by 10 1/2 lengths. His time of 1:20.77 was brilliant too, just off the seven-furlong track record of 1:20.44 set by champion female sprinter Groupie Doll back in 2012.

Based at Payson Park this winter, Patch Adams has fired three straight bullets in advance of the Southwest. He picks up record-setting rider Flavien Prat, who will guide the exciting prospect from post 7 in a 10-horse field.

Gaming sets the standard on form. From the first crop of 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) champion Game Winner, Gaming rolled in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) but has since settled for minor awards. He chased stablemate Citizen Bull at every call when runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, then ran a disappointing third as the 1-2 favorite in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).

Baffert said that Gaming lost his race in the Los Alamitos paddock that day, so watch how the colt handles the atmosphere at Oaklawn. Juan Hernandez comes in for the ride aboard Gaming, who has drawn the rail.

Baffert’s Triple Crown winners American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018) have progeny in the field. Justify’s son American Promise just broke his maiden over this track and trip, beating the American Pharoah colt Publisher.

Publisher is the less accomplished of a pair representing Steve Asmussen, a three-time Southwest winner. Asmussen’s leading entrant, Tiztastic, was runner-up in the Street Sense (G3) and third in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill.

Street Sense third Sandman, who just missed overtaking Tiztastic by a neck, remains on an upward curve. Trained by Mark Casse, the Tapit blueblood tuned up by winning a Dec. 13 allowance at Oaklawn.

Mystik Dan’s trainer, Kenny McPeek, ships Render Judgment up from Fair Grounds where he was a distant third in the Gun Runner S. The son of Blame, who was previously a closing fifth in the Kentucky Jockey Club, adds blinkers here.

The Ron Moquett-trained Speed King is the other with experience on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, having placed second in the Remington Springboard Mile. The aptly-named colt set the pace, only to be caught late by Coal Battle, who came right back to take the Smarty Jones S. as the opening leg of Oaklawn’s Derby prep series.

American Promise is trained by living legend D. Wayne Lukas, who also sends out Bon Temps. Still a maiden, Bon Temps was most recently fourth in the Smarty Jones. Rounding out the cast is Monet’s Magic, winner of his past two at Churchill and Oaklawn for Ben Colebrook.

Martha Washington S.

Quietside, an impressive debut winner at Saratoga last summer, has placed in three consecutive major races. The John Ortiz filly was second in the Spinaway (G1) and third in the Alcibiades (G1), both won by presumptive divisional champion Immersive. In her latest, Quietside played second fiddle to another unbeaten Godolphin runner, Good Cheer, in the Golden Rod (G2).

A homebred for Hot Springs resident John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable, Quietside now finds a spot where she’s the one to beat. She will break from the rail with new rider Ricardo Santana Jr.

Unbeaten Her Laugh dominated the Untapable S. on the Fair Grounds Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Instead of staying in New Orleans, she was rerouted here to keep her apart from fellow Whit Beckman trainee Simply Joking, who romped in the Silverbulletday S. as the second leg of the Fair Grounds series. Her Laugh, the 122-pound highweight, must concede seven pounds to the others.

McPeek, whose Thorpedo Anna starred at Oaklawn before crushing the 2024 Kentucky Oaks (G1), is double-handed with recent maiden winners Gowells Delight and Take Charge Milady. Gowells Delight, who graduated at Fair Grounds, was scratched from the Silverbulletday in favor of this race. Take Charge Milady has been wintering here.

Legal Empress, a daughter of Tiz the Law and past McPeek notable Dothraki Queen, just scored in a course-and-distance maiden for Abel Ramirez-Rodriguez. Two starts back, Legal Empress was second to Jenkin, the next-out winner of the Year’s End S.

Asmussen’s contender, twice stakes-placed Adeera, is the most experienced member of the field. Third in the Year’s End last out, she was previously a distant fourth behind Good Cheer in Churchill’s Rags to Riches S.

By 2020 Derby champion Authentic, Adeera is a three-quarter sister to Grade 1 winner Newgate and Denim and Pearls, the runner-up as the favorite in last year’s Martha Washington.

The Martha Washington is carded as the ninth race (4:31 p.m. ET) with the Southwest following as the 10th race (5:10 p.m. ET), and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.

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