Toews On Ice Off to Arkansas for Smarty Jones

The path to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) appears to run through Arkansas for Toews On Ice.



With 10 Road to the Kentucky Derby points available to the winner in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 18 at Oaklawn Park, the Archarcharch   colt owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman figures to focus on the Arkansas Derby preps—which could also include the Southwest (gr. III), Rebel (gr. II), and Arkansas Derby (gr. I).



The Bob Baffert trainee is one of two graded winners in the field of 14 and figures to be a heavy favorite in the mile Smarty Jones coming off a second-place finish to stablemate Mor Spirit in the Los Alamitos Futurity (gr. I) Dec. 19.

NOVAK: Mor Spirit Clears Toews On Ice at Los Al



The other graded winner in the field is William Stiritz's Shogood. The Nobiz Like Shobiz colt trained by Scott Becker took the Arlington-Washington Futurity (gr. III) on the Arlington International Racecourse synthetic main track in August, but tired to finish ninth last time out in the Street Sense Stakes Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs.

NOVAK: Shogood Sprints to Arlington-Washington Win



Other intriguing entrants include last-out Remington Springboard Mile Stakes winner Discreetness, who finished fourth in the Street Sense and eighth in the Arlington-Washington, and lightly raced but unbeaten colts Luna de Loco, Gordy Florida, and Knights Key.



A Calumet Farm homebred by Malibu Moon  , Luna de Loco is trained by Steve Asmussen and won his six-furlong maiden special weight debut at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 20 by 1 3/4 lengths.



Gordy Florida, a son of Cactus Ridge, is another homebred—owned and bred by Dream Walkin Farms—and is two-for-two in his career, with both starts coming at Remington Park. 



Alex Lieblong's Knights Key (by Giant's Causeway  ) enters off a debut win at Churchill Nov. 20, when he broke poorly, travelled five wide, and still closed from last to win by a neck in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight event.