Although he was overshadowed by others competing in the 1 1/16 mile race, including his Mark Casse-trained stablemate and owned by John Oxley Strategic risk who had defeated him in the Smarty Jones-Silent Tactic is unlikely to be overlooked in the future. He closed with authority in the southwest, blowing past nine rivals in the stretch while giving the impression of a horse likely to enjoy the classic Kentucky Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles. Widely fanned by Cristian Torres on Friday, he finished at full steam to take command inside the 16th pole en route to a 3 1/4 length victory over second place. Soldier N Diplomat who had taken a brief lead between calls after maintaining the pace.
Oxley’s Silent Tactic, who after the victory became the winner of the first stake for the father of the second crop Tacitus clocked 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.85. He paid $26 to win.
Torres celebrated by standing in the irons as Silent Tactic completed his final steps to the finish.
“I knew there would be a lot of speed in the race, so I wasn’t worried about the proximity or where I would be,” Torres said in an internal interview. “I just broke and let him be wherever he wanted to be, and he responded at the quarter post. He showed up.”
The Bob Baffert-trained intruder from Southern California Butane that set the pace D’code the 2-1 favorite came third, via fractions of :23.52, :47.52 and 1:12.81, followed by Santa Fe Ranch in fourth place. Circle tap a long shot of 66-1, finished fifth.
Disappointingly for Oxley and Casse, Strategic Risk came under pressure in the second corner and weakened to 10th.
The Southwest, the richest race yet in 2026 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, offered qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis to the top five finishers, provided they were Triple Crown nominees. Officials at Churchill Downswhere the May 2 Kentucky Derby is contested, use qualifying points to promote the race and as a preferred system when the first leg of the Triple Crown attracts more than the maximum field size of 20 horses.
Silent Tactic now sits atop the Kentucky Derby standings with 25 points, a total including 5 points he earned in the Smarty Jones.
The Southwest, originally scheduled for Jan. 31, was postponed due to subzero temperatures in Arkansas, which left the dirt road frozen for more than a week. The weather was noticeably better on Friday, with high temperatures in the 70s.
Casse speculated that the lost training time may have compromised the strategic risk, saying it could impact some horses and not others.
“I wonder if it affected him a little bit, but it certainly made Silent Tactic very good,” he told FOX Sports.
Silent Tactic, purchased last year by bloodstock agent Justin Casse for $500,000 from the Thorostock consignment to the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training, was bred in Kentucky from the Rifle runner mare Magic sign . He scored his second career win in the South West after scoring on debut as a 2-year-old on October 10 Woodbine on the all-weather Tapeta surface. He later finished second in the November 2 Gray Stakes (G3), before finishing second in the Smarty Jones.
He earned $495,000 conquering the Southwest, bringing his career earnings to $594,422.
Tacitus, who won the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) in 2019 before going on to finish third in the Kentucky Derby and second in the Belmont Stakes (G1) that year, is listed for $5,000 at Taylor Made Stallions in Central Kentucky.
Three competitors from the Southwest have won the Derby: Lil E. Tee (1992), Smart Jones (2004), and Mystical Daan (2024). Smarty Jones and Mystik Dan won both races, while Lil E. Tee finished third in the Southwest.
Casse made no immediate commitment to run Silent Tactic in the March 1 $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2), the next leg in Oaklawn’s stakes series for 3-year-olds. That 1 1/16-mile race precedes the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 28 at 1 1/8 miles.
“We’ll figure it out, but we’re not leaving Oaklawn,” he said.
Video: Southwest S. (G3)
Search party finds daylight and takes Martha Washington with them
Casse and Torres previously had high-stakes success Friday at Oaklawn at Tracy Farmer’s Find a party shook himself loose from the traffic in the second corner before erasing the late lead Newtown Pike by a neck in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.
The victorious daughter of Rifle runnerwho kept the pace in third for the first half mile before falling to fifth when stuck behind horses in the second turn, tapped three wide to find a clear path in the stretch en route to completing 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.56.
She was one of four winners on the card for the Hall of Fame trainer, who enjoys a great meet at Oaklawn Park.
Newtown Pike finished half a length ahead of the show’s finisher Knickleandime which weakened after setting fractions of :23.10, :47.83 and 1:13.31. Maximum offer came fourth and Press Parade fifth. Favorite Counting stars Search Party’s stablemate, faded to finish a badly beaten last in the field of eight.
Search Party outpaces Newtown Pike to win the Martha Washington Stakes
The Martha Washington Stakes, like the Southwest, awarded similar qualifying points to a top-level race at Churchill Downs: the May 1 Kentucky Oaks (G1) for three-year-old fillies.
Search Party is Farmer’s own breeder, having bred her in Kentucky from the In mischief mare Cunning charm . She followed up a maiden victory Dec. 27 at Oaklawn by winning the Martha Washington and improved to 2-1-2 in six starts with earnings of $276,211.
“The first horse I ever bought for Tracy Farmer was her mother,” Casse said. “This is special. The Farmers have been such great supporters of ours, and she showed a lot of heart today.”
Video: Martha Washington S. (BT)
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