Gold Street facing prospect of dryer surface in Southwest

He's a confirmed mudder, but Gold Street is facing the prospect of having to deal with a faster surface on Monday when he aims for a fourth straight victory in the $500,000 Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn Park. The Southwest, over 1 1/16 miles, is the final Road to the Kentucky Derby series prep of the season that will dish out qualifying points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the top four finishers

Gold Street banked his first 10 Derby points last month with a wire-to-wire score in the Smarty Jones S. contested on a muddy surface. Sent off at 10-1 after back-to-back victories in the slop at Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds, Gold Street seized command from the start and won stylishly by 2 3/4 lengths.

Farther back were fellow Steve Asmussen trainees Shoplifted, who finished third after previously taking the Springboard Mile, and Silver Prospector, who ran fourth in his first start following an upset score in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) in November.

Besides Asmussen's strong hand, the Southwest field also includes a duo from the Brad Cox stable. Answer In was beaten a head by Shoplifted in the Springboard Mile as an odds-on choice, while Wells Bayou steps up in class following a four-length allowance win over a muddy Oaklawn strip on Jan. 26.

Todd Pletcher has shipped Chase Tracker in for the Southwest. A winner on debut at Parx in September, the colt finished third to Independence Hall in the Nashua (G3) and to Shotski in the Remsen (G2) in his next two starts.

Jeremiah Englehart, who trains Smarty Jones runner-up and Rebel (G2)-bound Three Technique, sends out Villainous here following the Wicked Strong's colt 1 1/4-length maiden win on the Jan. 24 Smarty Jones undercard.

"Just reminds me of a horse that's not at his best yet," Englehart said. "Whether it's this next race that will get him there or two races, three races down the road, I'm not sure. He's just a horse that seems like he wants to be a good horse."

The field is rounded out by California invader Taishan, a distant fourth in the Sham (G3) early last month, and American Butterfly, who's gone unplaced in three prior stakes attempts but narrowly missed in a 6-furlong allowance on Feb. 2.