Silent Tactic took the Southwest and joined the group of the best

Mark Casse's pupil shone at Oaklawn Park and added very important points on the road to the Kentucky Derby

Cristian Torres celebrates in the reins of Silent Tactic / OAKLAWN PARK

HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas.- From promise to reality in just one month. Silent Tactic authoritatively confirmed his credentials for the Kentucky Derby (G1) by winning convincingly in the Southwest Stakes (G3), held Friday at Oaklawn Park, one of the most traditional stops on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Following a discreet—though promising—second-place finish in his dirt debut in the Smarty Jones Stakes (L), the colt trained by Mark Casse made a notable leap in quality in this US$ 1,000,000 race, handling the 1700 meters with a devastating finish that left his rivals without answers.

With Cristian Torres in the reins, Silent Tactic ran off the pace, as anticipated by the race flow. The strong initial tempo was set by D’code (Speightstown), followed closely by Buetane (Tiz the Law), while the son of Tacitus stayed expectant, far from the fray. Upon entering the stretch, Torres pulled him wide, and the colt responded immediately: in just a few strides, he took control of the field and pulled away to cross the wire with a 3 1/4-length advantage over Soldier N Diplomat (Army Mule), who had briefly led in the middle of the stretch.

The scene was eloquent: Torres stood in the stirrups before the wire, celebrating a victory as clear as it was significant. “I knew there was going to be plenty of pace, so I didn't worry about positioning. I let him run where he felt comfortable and he responded when I asked him. He showed up when he had to,” summarized the jockey.

The triumph had several special ingredients. Silent Tactic became the first stakes winner for Tacitus (Tapit) as a sire, completed his second victory in five starts, and returned $26 for every $2 bet, after having been in the shadow of his stablemate Strategic Risk (Noble Bird), who had beaten him in the Smarty Jones and arrived as one of the main cards for Casse and John Oxley.

Precisely, the flip side was the lackluster performance of Strategic Risk, who was urged early, lost contact on the final turn, and finished tenth, far from the fight. Casse himself suggested that the lack of training, due to the harsh weather conditions that forced the race's postponement, might have affected him. “It impacts some horses more than others. Evidently, it suited Silent Tactic well,” he commented.

Numerically, Silent Tactic stopped the clock at 1m44s85/100, added 20 points to the Derby ranking—plus the 5 he had already earned in the Smarty Jones—and took the lead in the standings with 25 units, positioning himself firmly among the strong names of the generation.

Bred in Kentucky and purchased last April for US$ 500,000 at the OBS 2-year-olds in training sale, the bay had shown talent early on: he debuted winning at age two at Woodbine on synthetic track, was second in the Grey Stakes (G3), and later confirmed his adaptation to American dirt with two solid performances at Oaklawn.

History supports his ambition. Three winners of the Southwest Stakes went on to lift the garland of roses at Churchill Downs: Lil E. Tee (At the Threshold), Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality), and, more recently, Mystik Dan(Goldencents). Two of them even achieved the double.

Asked about the next steps, Mark Casse was cautious but firm: “We haven't decided yet if he runs the Rebel Stakes(G2), but we are not leaving Oaklawn.”

For now, Silent Tactic has already done the hardest part: moving from being a surprise to becoming a serious contender for the Kentucky Derby. The road is long, but his performance in the Southwest left a clear feeling: the classic distance will not only not be a problem but may be his greatest ally.