Trainer Mark Kass continued his impressive run at Oaklawn for the 2025-2026 season with a dominant 1-2 finish in the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for three-year-olds on Saturday. Javier Castellano rode Strategic Risk to a commanding victory in the race, winning by four and a half lengths over stablemate Silent Tactic, with both horses owned by John Oxley.
Strategic Risk’s win secured the majority of the Kentucky Derby points, which are awarded on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers. The third-place finisher, Baytown Dreamer at 84-1 odds, finished just three-quarters of a length behind Silent Tactic, who was racing on dirt for the first time. The rest of the field included Sleeping Gon Freedom in fourth, followed by the previously unbeaten Rancho Santa Fe, Scarship, Universe (with two wins and one loss), and Oscar’s Hope. Boca Beach Club was injured, reducing the starting field to eight.
Strategic Risk, priced at $7, completed the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:45.06 on a fast track, with Scar Ship setting the pace from the outside. This victory marked Kass’ fourth stakes win of the meet, boosting his season total to 23 wins and 11 stakes wins in just the first 12 days of the 64-day season.
The homegrown Strategic Risk, a mare by Afleet Alex and bred in Florida by Noble Bird, earned $392,300 with this victory, making it her sixth career win and third stakes victory. She had previously won the 1 1/16-mile Florida Sire Stakes by nine lengths in her last race at Gulfstream Park on November 29. Kass confirmed that Strategic Risk is targeting the $1 million Southwest Stakes (Grade 3) at Oaklawn on January 31.
Saturday’s estimated attendance was around 15,000, with a total betting handle of over $12.4 million. The 13-day holiday racing season at Oaklawn wraps up on Sunday.
Quotes:
Trainer Mark Kass, by phone, said, “I spoke with Javier (Castellano) this morning and felt confident we had the best horse. Even though Strategic Risk didn’t win much last race, I saw how strong he ran and believed he would be tough today.” He added that Silent Tactic had a big effort, overcoming some trouble in his first dirt race and is expected to improve.
Jockey Javier Castellano commented, “Strategic Risk warmed up well and was very comfortable. I positioned him well and followed Scarship’s pace, which wasn’t too fast. When I asked him, he responded strongly and finished steady.”
Florent Geroux, jockey of Rancho Santa Fe who finished fifth, noted, “He broke a little slow and with the slow pace, I stayed close to second place but was pushed back late in the race.”
Joel Rosario, jockey of Universe who finished seventh, said, “He looked fine early but may have had trouble handling the track, as it was his first time here.”
Originally published by Paulick Report on January 4, 2026.
Fan Take: This exciting Smarty Jones Stakes result highlights the emergence of Strategic Risk as a serious Kentucky Derby contender and showcases the talent coming through Oaklawn’s winter season. For horse racing fans, it underscores the importance of these qualifying prep races in shaping the next generation of elite Thoroughbreds aiming for the sport’s biggest stage.
