Far Right faces 11 in Southwest

Winner of the January 19 Smarty Jones, Far Right (Notional) will seek his

second straight stakes victory at Oaklawn Park in Monday's $300,000

Southwest

(G3). The Ron Moquett-trained colt drew well in post 2 among 12 rivals in

the 1 1/16-mile test and will keep Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the saddle.

Far Right concluded his juvenile campaign with third-place finishes in the

Street Sense at Churchill Downs and Delta Downs Jackpot (G3), registering a

commendable 96 BRIS Speed rating in the latter. The late runner was bet down as

the 2-1 second choice in the Smarty Jones and benefited from Mr. Z (Malibu Moon)

taking a right-hand turn in the stretch with a clear lead, surging up the inside

to win going away by 1 3/4 lengths.

Mr. Z, who wound up third at even-money in the Smarty Jones, returns in the

Southwest and new rider Corey Nakatani will attempt to maintain a straight

course on the D. Wayne Lukas trainee. Despite owning only a maiden win, the

chestnut colt has earned $514,726, placing in six stakes. He breaks from post

10.

Bayerd (Speightstown) and Private Prospect (Discreet Cat), the second- and

fourth-place finishers in the Smarty Jones, will also return for the Southwest.

Bayerd is one of two runners from the Steve Asmussen stable along with Bold

Conquest (Curlin). Unraced since a third in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) at

Keeneland, Bold Conquest also recorded a neck second in the Iroquois (G3) and

picks up a new rider in Ricardo Santana Jr.