Speed King Leads All the Way in Southwest Stakes

Owner Ted Bowman of Triton Thoroughbreds and trainer Ron Moquett are no strangers to pulling off upsets together. The pair pulled off a 91-1 shocker 19 years ago when Seek Gold pulled out a nose victory in the 2006 Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, giving both their first grade 1 winner. Although a much smaller price Jan. 25, the pair pulled another upset with Speed King, whose early foot bested eight competitors at odds of 14-1 in the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park. However, this upset may have carried a stronger meaning as it took place just two blocks from Bowman's home and has now placed their promising colt firmly on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. "I'm so excited," an emotional Bowman said in the winner's circle. "My wife and I, we're a small operation. She does all the books, (we) got a few partners that have never been in horse racing. It's just been special—being here (at Oaklawn) where I went to the track with my mom and dad." Speed King's upset victory, for which he paid his backers $30.60, was set up as he took his customary spot on the lead while the three top betting choices brought up the rear. After setting fractions of :24.11, :47.82 and 1:12.23, Speed King dispatched pace-prompter American Promise approaching the quarter pole at jockey Rafael Bejarano's asking. Turning for home by himself, Speed King had opened up an insurmountable lead and stayed to task in the stretch, winning by a length while completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.86. The top five finishers earned qualifying points for the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. The victory moves Speed King to second place on the leaderboard with a total of 25. The only blemish on the colt's three-race career was being caught on the wire by Coal Battle in the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park Dec. 13. Coal Battle came back to win the Jan. 4 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn. "Obviously now, we're thinking big things, we hope," Bowman said. "We beat great horses today." Bred in Kentucky by Nancy Shuford, Speed King is the first graded stakes winner for Volatile, a now second-crop sire who stands the 2025 season at Three Chimneys Farm for a $12,500 fee. Speed King was purchased for $100,000 by Bowman at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. He has now earned $669,000. Behind Speed King in second was Sandman, who stumbled badly at the start and put forth a valiant rally in the stretch to grab the placing. Tiztastic was third and favored Patch Adams finished fourth. Grade 1 winner Gaming, who was runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), raced in the back of the pack throughout and never threatened while eighth. McPeek Back on Oaks Trail As Take Charge Milady Wins Martha Washington Stakes A trainer has not won back-to-back editions of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) since D. Wayne Lukas in 1989-90, but Kenny McPeek will aim to change that statistic as he picked up his first win on the 2025 Road to the Kentucky Oaks with Take Charge Milady in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Saturday. The 3-year-old Take Charge Indy filly changed her pace-prompting tactics that won her a Jan. 5 Oaklawn maiden race by four lengths. After breaking sharp, rider Julien Leparoux backed her off the pace, racing fourth of five early. "She's a filly that's still learning," Leparoux said. "She's been improving every race. She broke sharp, I let everybody go and kind of sat. You need to teach her something, too. You can't just expect her to be perfect if you don't teach her anything. That was a good race today, she learned a lot and she made a big, long run." Leparoux took advantage of odds-on favorite and dual grade 1-placed Quietside finding herself in tight quarters on the rail multiple times through the opening half-mile. The two ran together as they surged past pacesetters Legal Empress and Gowells Delight after fractions of :24.35 and :48.79. The early trouble took its toll on Quietside as they reached the top of the stretch. Take Charge Milady put her away at the quarter pole and was a no-doubt winner, hitting the wire in 1:46.81 while finishing 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Quietside. Legal Empress held third. Take Charge Milady paid $7.20 to win and earned 20 qualifying points to the May 2 Kentucky Oaks. The rest of the top five finishers earned qualifying points on a 10-6-4-2 scale. Bred in Kentucky by Merriebelle Stable, McPeek purchased the dark bay or brown filly for $60,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for James Ball, Magdalena Racing and Kenneth Rhodes, from the consignment of Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services. She has now earned $259,594 in four starts.