Trainer John Servis, best known as Smarty Jones' trainer, is set to return to Oaklawn Park to run Adirondack King in the Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 20. Meanwhile, Apprehender and No Spin both worked toward the race.

The popular Smarty Jones swept the Southwest, Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby en route to collecting a $5 million bonus for also winning the Kentucky Derby. He then won the Preakness Stakes before being denied the Triple Crown by Birdstone in the Belmont Stakes.

Adirondack King, a son of 2006 Arkansas Derby winner Lawyer Ron, arrived at Oaklawn on Friday after a van ride from his base at Palm Beach Downs. He's stabled in trainer Tim Ritchey’s barn and is scheduled is to walk Sunday, go to the track for the first time Monday and breeze Wednesday.

“I’m tickled to be returning,” said Servis, who is expected in town Sunday. “We discussed it with the owners, and we felt the best route was the Arkansas route.”

Adirondack King enters the one-mile Southwest off a third-place effort in the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs Jan. 14 under jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. He will be reunited with jockey Stewart Elliott, Smarty Jones’ jockey, for the Southwest. Elliott rode him to three consecutive victories to conclude his 2-year-old season.

“Wasn’t disappointed by his last race,” said Servis. “Of course, I would have liked to have won, but he had some obstacles to overcome in that race. He’s doing great and appears headed in the right direction.”

Apprehender Works

With wintery weather threatening Hot Springs for the first time this season, trainer Ingrid Mason moved up a scheduled workout fo Apprehender today.

The chestnut son of Posse packed quite a bit into his activity, according to Mason, with a two-minute lick in company leading to a blow-out three furlongs. The Oaklawn clockers credited the one-for-one gelding with a half-mile in :51.00.

“If the weather comes like they’re calling for, I needed to get this work in today,” said Mason. “He doesn’t need much. That’s why it’s kind of a work and a two-minute lick at the same time.”

Apprehender exits an eye-opening debut performance that rated highly on most major speed figure services. He will attempt to stretch from 5 1/2 furlongs to a mile in the Southwest.

Regular jockey Inosencio Diego was aboard for the Saturday work and gave a thumbs up back at the barn on the coldest morning of the year so far.

The work turned into an anxious moment when a horse broke loose and dropped its rider. The horse was a similar color and had a similar blaze as Apprehender -- and had a white saddle pad that looked like the towels Mason uses -- but she said it would be near impossible for one of the best horses she’s had in her career to get loose like that.

“I have a pony with my horse every time he goes out there,” she said. “There’s no way I would ever let him get that fired up and act like that.”
 
No Spin Breezes

Connections hoping to erase the memory of a disappointing performance in the Smarty Jones Stakes, No Spin posted a five-furlong workout Saturday at Oaklawn in preparation for the Southwest.

No Spin finished tenth in the Smarty Jones, but trainer Tim Ice now maintains he was suffering from the equine version of a head cold.

“He gets a lot out of his works, so we could do this today eight days out and it puts us on target,” said Ice.

No Spin won the Royal Glint Stakes at Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago in October, but that win came on the grass. He has since finished fourth in the Springboard Mile at Remington Park.

No Spin is co-owned by Dr. Leonard Blach, who was a partner on Mine That Bird.

“When we were both racing against each other (in 2009 when Ice had Summer Bird), he told me he wouldn’t mind giving me a shot with a horse at some point,” said Ice. “Our first try, we had a horse we thought highly of bow a tendon. Fortunately, he didn’t give up on me, and he sent me this colt last May. We talk about that year now and I kind of joke with him that I did have the Belmont, but I would like to have won that Derby.”

Ice indicated No Spin would probably get a ‘two-minute lick’ around midweek, weather permitting prior to entering what is expected to be an overflow field for the Southwest.

--Edited Oaklawn Park release