Speed King, the beneficiary of the trouble that hindered rivals
behind him, led at every call Saturday to score a 14-1 upset victory in the
Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes, a Kentucky Derby 2025 points prep at Oaklawn.

Owned by Triton Thoroughbreds and trained by Ron Moquett,
the colt who was sired by Volatile set fractions of 24.11, 47.82, 1:12.23 and
1:39.15 on the way to a winning time of 1:45.86 for the 1 1/16 miles on the
fast main track.

Click here for Oaklawn entries and results.

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Speed King won by about
three-quarters of a length over hard-luck runner-up Sandman (6-1), who lost his
balance in a physical stretch run. Tiztastic (16-1) was third, and odds-on favorite Patch Adams (4-5) overcame
a poor start to finish fourth.

There was an stewards inquiry into the stretch run, but it
did not involve the top four horses. The top five in the field of nine
3-year-olds were awarded 20-10-6-4-2 points toward qualifying for the Kentucky
Derby.

Speed King was a debut winner in November at Churchill
Downs. He finished second in the Remington Springboard Mile last month, earning
five Derby points. Saturday’s victory lifted him to 25 qualifying points.

This story will be updated.