Turf War, Riley Tucker return in Southwest

LIBERTY BULL (Holy Bull) and ISABULL (Holy Bull), the respective one-two finishers in the Smarty Jones S., will meet again in Monday's $250,000 Southwest S. (G3), but they'll face much tougher competition in the Presidents' Day feature at Oaklawn Park. TURF WAR (Dixie Union), dead-heat winner of the Delta Jackpot S. (G3) in his juvenile finale, and Grade 2-placed RILEY TUCKER (Harlan's Holiday) will both make their three-year-old debut in the one-mile event, and the unbeaten DENIS OF CORK (Harlan's Holiday) will make his first stakes appearance.

Liberty Bull broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in November and finished second when making his stakes bow in the Sugar Bowl S. at Fair Grounds in late December. The Tom Amoss pupil rallied to the lead leaving the far turn in the one-mile Smarty Jones on January 21 and gamely withstood the charge of Isabull to win by a neck. The Steve Hobby-trained Isabull turned in an encouraging effort last time while making his stakes debut.

Turf War, a full brother to Mineshaft H. (G3) winner and Travers S. (G1) runner-up Grasshopper, captured the Swynford S. on the Polytrack at Woodbine last year and made his dirt debut in the Delta Jackpot. Last after a half-mile in the 8 1/2-furlong race, the Mark Casse runner rallied strongly to dead-heat with Z Humor (Distorted Humor) for the win. Calvin Borel returns to the saddle. Riley Tucker concluded 2007 with a third in the Saratoga Special (G2) and a close second in the Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3). Kent Desormeaux will pick up the mount on the Bill Mott trainee.

Denis of Cork will enter the Southwest with a two-for-two mark, breaking his maiden at Churchill before taking a January 19 allowance at Fair Grounds, and Robby Albarado will take over the reins aboard the David Carroll charge. Dallas Stewart will send out SACRED JOURNEY (Unbridled's Song), a convincing winner of a maiden special weight and allowance race at Fair Grounds in his most recent outings.