Mourinho ($3.20) went wire-to-wire in the $150,000 Smarty Jones on Monday at Oaklawn. The race carried 17 points for the Kentucky Derby, with the winner securing 10. Combatant finished second.
Mourinho set fractions of 23.33 seconds for the opening quarter, 48.04 for the half-mile and 1:12.27 for six furlongs before going on to cover the mile distance in 1:37.24. The race ended at the sixteenth pole, as with all races at the mile distance at Oaklawn.
Drayden Van Dyke was aboard the winner for Phoenix Thoroughbreds III and trainer Bob Baffert.
Baffert said Mourinho would be considered for the Southwest next month at Oaklawn in a post-race teleconference with media. He said the horse returns to Southern California on Tuesday.
For a video clip of the stretch run: https://twitter.com/DRFRampellini/media