Far Right saved ground throughout and finished with an impressive rally to win the $100,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park, a race in which favored Mr. Z dived outward in the homestretch while holding a clear lead and wound up finishing third.
Coming off of a third-place finish in the Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (gr. III), Far Right broke slowly and quickly settled at the rear of the nine-horse field, rating about seven lengths off the lead as American Sailor and Mr. Z set quick fractions of :23.17 and :46.92. Longshot Runaway Bling was tracking them in third, followed by Remington Springboard Mile winner Bayerd and Lucky Player, Private Prospect, Paid Admission, and Hebbronville.
Following three-quarters of a mile in 1:11.79, Mr. Z moved up strongly under right-handed urging to take command of the race, but when struck left-handed by jockey Jon Court, Mr. Z ducked sharply to the right, ending up in the middle of the racetrack before Court could straighten him out. In the meantime, Far Right was rallying after being steadied in traffic on the far turn, and after shifting to the inside in the final furlong, Far Right moved through strongly to win by 1 3/4 lengths in the time of 1:38.43 seconds for a mile.
Bayerd put in a good finish to secure the place by a half-length over Mr. Z, who almost certainly lost the race due to his antics in the homestretch. Private Prospect finished another half-length back in fourth, followed by American Sailor, Hebbronville, Paid Admission, Lucky Player, and Runaway Bling.
Far Right is a son of Notional out of the Vindication mare Zini. Owned by Robert LaPenta and Harry Rosenblum, Far Right is trained by Ron Moquett and was ridden to victory by Mike Smith. For his victory, Far Right earned $90,000 and 10 Kentucky Derby qualification points.
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