Monday, September 5, 2016
Live Oak Stud's Awesome Slew turned in a brilliant performance in Monday's $300,000 Smarty Jones S. (G3) at Parx, winning by seven lengths to give the 3-year-old colt his first stakes victory and third win in six starts.
The win earned the son of Awesome Again a free nomination to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G2), September 24th at Parx.
After seizing the lead early on, Awesome Slew drew off by nearly three lengths after a quarter mile, then got a breather from Paco Lopez on the backstretch. Lopez asked the bay colt to pick up the pace once again on the turn, and in a flash the race was all but over as he rocketed away from the field. The final time for the 1 1/16-miles was 1:42.92.
Prior to the Smarty Jones, Awesome Slew placed in the Pegasus S. (G3) and is now 3-0-1 in six races and has earned $255,820.
Awesome Slew is the second foal out of Slewfoundmoney, a two-time stakes winner. Awesome Slew is a half-brother to Live Oak's multiple stakes-placed winner Souper Lucky.