Silent Tactic overcame a last-place start to surge past the field and win the Grade 3 $1 million Southwest Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths at Oaklawn Park. The 12-1 longshot, ridden by Cristian Torres for trainer Mark Casse and owner John Oxley, earned 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds. The victory marked Casse's third consecutive win in an Oaklawn Derby prep event.
The Southwest Stakes, postponed six days due to winter weather, unfolded on a fast main track with a 12-horse field. Betting favorite D'code, at 2-1 odds and under Luis Saez, broke sharply to set the pace through a quarter-mile in 23.52 seconds and a half-mile in 47.52 seconds. Buetane, the 3-1 second choice, tracked closely, followed by Rancho Santa Fe and Soldier N Diplomat.
Silent Tactic, starting from 11th place and over six lengths off the lead after the opening half, began advancing. D'code held a head lead through three-quarters in 1:12.81, but Soldier N Diplomat, ridden by José Ortiz for trainer Steve Asmussen, moved into second as D'code tired. Silent Tactic reached sixth at the top of the stretch before unleashing a strong rally, passing nine horses in the final three-sixteenths of a mile.
The colt drew clear through a mile in 1:38.73 and finished in 1:44.85. This result reversed the Jan. 3 Smarty Jones Stakes, where stablemate Strategic Risk won by 4 1/2 lengths over Silent Tactic; Strategic Risk faded to 10th here, while D'code dropped to eighth.
Soldier N Diplomat finished second, a head ahead of Buetane, who was a nose short of giving trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh Southwest win. Rancho Santa Fe took fourth, followed by Circle Tap. Silent Tactic, a 3-year-old son of Tacitus out of the Gun Runner mare Magical Sign, improved to 4: 2-2-0 with earnings of $594,422. Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation, he was purchased for $500,000 at the 2025 OBS spring sale and had finished second in the Grade 3 Grey Stakes at Woodbine in his prior graded try.
Casse, a Hall of Famer, also won four races on the card, including the Martha Washington Stakes with Search Party. Oaklawn's Derby series continues with the Rebel Stakes on March 1 and the Arkansas Derby on March 28.