Share This: Pass the Champagne moves up to finish second in the Ashland Stakes. How will she do in the Kentucky Oaks?
The 147th, $1.25 million dollar Longines Kentucky Oaks races this Friday, April 29th! After a long series of prep races the final field of 14 has been qualified and selected. The best three year old, dirt racing, thoroughbred fillies are set to face off. Keep reading and sharing to learn more.
Share This: The 2020 Kentucky Oaks will look a lot different without the fans.
This Friday is for the fillies! The very long awaited Kentucky Oaks will finally race on September, 4th. The 2020 Kentucky Oaks is already unique in so many ways. The 146th edition will go down as an Oaks to remember. These 3 year-olds have long awaited this opportunity to show off their star power. We are longing for the Longines Kentucky Oaks.
Kenny McPeek and Corey Lanerie had a nice finish with Eskimo Kisses in second place in the Ashland Stakes!
Are you ready for my favorite fourteen filly face-off on Friday, the 4th? I have a quick breakdown on the facts, fun, food, fashion, feelings and fortune that awaits in the 144th Kentucky Oaks. Please, follow along with my easy outline for the Oaks.
The Scat Daddy fillies are really turning my head. On a mission to find this sire’s beautiful Lady Aurelia, I was wildly entertained by another of his gorgeous daughters, Daddys Lil Darling.
The celebration is in full swing! I started out Kentucky Derby week right. On Sunday, I went to Churchill Downs for Fan Fest. The Kentucky Derby Museum hosted a special day with museum access, tours of Churchill Downs and presentations by famous horsemen. So many activities are taking place right now ahead of the KY Derby but certainly don’t miss out when the Fillies Run for the Lillies in the 143rd Kentucky Oaks.
Christmas came early for 8 lucky Thoroughbreds yesterday. Two races held at Los Alamitos, in California, on December 10th were the end of the road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks for this year. Fortunately, on 1/7/17 prep races continue as they will until mid April.
I covered the top of the KY Derby leaderboard in my last post. The Grade 1 CashCall Futurity held yesterday awarded 10 points to Mastery, 4 points to Irap, 2 points for Dangerfield and 1 point to Bobby Abu Dhabi. This resulted in some changes in the top of the leaderboard bumping Mastery into 5th place and knocking Klimt out of the top ten. The KY Derby top ten as 2016 ends:
Classic Empire
Practical Joke
Gunnevera
Lookin At Lee
Mastery
Gormley
Mo Town
McCraken
Wild Shot
No Dozing
Changes in the top ten KY Oaks contenders were similar. The Grade 1 Starlet Stakes gifted 10 points to Abel Tasman, 4 to American Gal, 2 to Mopotism and 1 point for Tapped. This moved Farrell from the 8th to 9th position as Abel Tasman took over the 8 spot and Ever So Clever fell to 12th as American Gal filled in the 11th position. The current KY Oaks contenders:
Champagne Room
Daddys Lil Darling
Miss Sky Warrior
Dancing Rags
Yellow Agate
Shane’s Girlfriend
Noted and Quoted
Abel Tasman
Farrell
Valadorna
Unlike the KY Derby where the favorite is my favorite, Classic Empire, I’m uncertain as to which filly in this field I’m a fan of? The KY Oaks was inaugurated on 5/19/1875. The 143rd Oaks will be held 5/5/17.
Champagne Room won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and that is where she picked up 20 of her 21 points. Valadorna was second, American Girl was third , Daddys Lil Darling finished fourth, Noted and Quoted was 7th, Dancing Rags ran 8th and YellowAgate finished 10th. Therefore, Champagne Room beat many in this field once but she didn’t win it by lengths. She has finished in the top 4 in her 5 career races, 4 of which were graded stakes. She got just 1 point when she finished fourth in the Chandelier Stakes. Noted and Quoted won that race.
Daddys Lil Darling has worked hard for her 20 points. She has finished in the top 4 of 4 KY Oaks prep races. She was 1st in the Pohahontas, 2nd in the Alcibiades and the Golden Rod and 4th in the BC Juvenile.
Miss Sky Warrior has finished 1st in the last 3 of her 4 starts. The last 2 were graded stakes and she took her Oaks points when she won the Demoiselle Stakes.
Dancing Rags won the Alcibiades but finished near the back in the BC Juvenile. She has won 2 of her 4 starts.
Yellow Agate has only raced 3 times. She won the Frizette Stakes grabbing 10 points but then did poorly in the BC Juvenile.
Shane’s Girlfriend is undefeated in her 2 starts. She won the Delta Downs Princess Stakes less than a month after breaking her maiden.
Noted and Quoted has raced 5 times. She got her Oaks points when she won the Chandelier but she did not excel in the BC Juvenile.
Abel Tasman won the Starlet yesterday. It was her 1st graded stakes race. She has won 3 of her 4 lifetime races.
Farrell is my homegirl, LOL. All 4 of her starts have been at Churchill Downs. I saw her there this Fall. It is her picture at the top of the post. She broke her maiden that day. The following month she won the Golden Rod Stakes.
Valadorna broke her maiden her 2nd time out. That was on opening day at Keeneland. Her next race was the BC Juvenile Fillies where she took 2nd place. She has not raced since.
With just 9 preps finished and 21 to go I have a while to go before I pick my favorite KY Oaks horse. 2017 is going to be very interesting! Keep checking my page out as we continue down the road. Who do you like?Share This:
Turn a pity party into paradise! That’s what one trip to the world famous Kentucky Horse Park can do. I finished up a glorious Fall Meet at Keeneland Friday and Saturday which left me pining for more equine action today. Thus I headed out to the KY Horse Park. I wanted to see the progress on the Man o’ War statue at his final resting place.
Born on March 29, 1917 it will soon be time to celebrate the 100th year since this legendary horse was foaled. Man o’ War is one of the very best Thoroughbreds to ever race. “Big Red”, as he was affectionately named, won 20 of 21 career races. He was bred and born in Kentucky at Nursery Stud owned by August Belmont II. Man o’ War was sired by Fair Play, his dam was Mahubah. Man o’ War was sold to Samuel Riddle and lived at Glenn Riddle farm in Maryland. Big Red was trained by Louis Feustel. His jockeys were John P. Loftus and later, Clarence Kummer.
Man o’ War won the Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Colt in 1990 and 3 Year Old Colt in 1920. He won the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1920 as well. He then retired to Faraway Farm in Lexington, KY and had a highly successful stud career, siring 62 graded stakes winners. His son, War Admiral, won the Triple Crown in 1937. WarAdmiral died on this very date, 10/30, in 1959. Before that, Man o’ War passed away 11/01/1947 of a heart attack. He was buried at Faraway and later moved to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY in 1977. Man o’ War was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. In many publications of Thoroughbred rankings, Big Red is listed as number 1.
When Man o’ War was exhumed his 3,000 pound bronze statue was moved with him. Herbert Haseltine created the bronze sculpture dated 1948 but commissioned as early as 1934. It sits on a marble base. Casting Arts and Technology is currently in the process of removing the original patina to restore the statue.
Man o’ War’s statue is still a beautiful site to behold even while it is a work in progress. The statue and his grave are in the Man o’ War Memorial area just beyond the main gate and to the left. Isaac Murphy, a famous jockey and several of Man o’ War’s descendants are buried there as well.
I really enjoyed my time at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning. I especially loved seeing the retired horses that live in the Hall of Champions and petting a sweet horse in a paddock on the property. Big Red’s statue should be restored any day now and the park is already preparing for their Southern Lights attraction which I posted about last December. I sure do miss Keeneland racing but I’m glad to have the Kentucky Horse Park open on most days annually. There is always something new to see. Check back soon as I post about the upcoming Breeders’ Cup.
It’s just a few days now until the Bluegrass State hosts the 142nd running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks! Friday, 5/6/16 at 5:49 P.M. EST be sure to watch the run for the lillies at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.
The Kentucky Oaks is a 1 and 1/8 mile (9 furlong) race on a dirt track at Churchill for 3 year old fillies. Competition began with the Pocahontas race on 9/12/15 at Churchill Downs and ended with the Beaumont at Keeneland 4/17/16. 30 races are qualified to provide the points needed to receive a nomination for the KY Oaks. 14 horses have been selected with an additional “also eligible” horse. Post positions have been drawn and the field is as follows: Post position. Horse/Jockey/Trainer/Owner
Terra Promessa/Ricardo Sanatana Jr./Steven M Asmussen/Stonestreet Stables, LLC
Weep No More/Corey Lanerie/George R. Arnold/Ashbrook Farm
Lewis Bay/Irad Ortiz, Jr./Chad C. Brown/Alpha Delta Stables
Go Maggie Go/ Luis Saez/Dale L. Romans/Mike Tarp
Dream Dance/Brian Hernandez Jr./Neil J. Howard/Stoneway Farm
Mo Kat/Flaven Prat/Richard Baltas/JK Racing Stable
Mo d’Amour/Joel Rosario/Todd Pletcher/King of Prussia Stable
Royal Obsession/Florent Geroux/Steven M. Asmussen
Paola Queen/Emisael Jaramillo/Gustavo Delgado/Grupo 7 C Racing Stable
Venus Valentine/Shaun Bridgmohon/Thomas M. Amoss/Rosemont Farm LLC
Cathryn Sophia/Javier Castellano/John C. Servis/Cash Is King LLC
Land Over Sea/Mario Guiterrez/Doug F. O’Neill/Reddam Racing LLC
Taxable/Mike Smith/Steven M. Asmussen/Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC
“Also Eligible”Dothraki Queen/Gary Stevens/Kenneth G. McPeek/Magdalena Racing
Terra Promessa has had 5 career starts and won her last 4 races including two Grade 3 races, The Honeybee and the Fantasy Stakes. She is sired by Curlin.
Weep No More raced for her first time at Churchill but she broke her maiden at Tampa Bay and has not lost a race since then. In 4 of her 5 career starts she has won including her last race, the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes. In that race she beat Rachel’s Valentina and Cathryn Sophia.
Lewis Bay has always been 1st or 2nd place in her 5 career starts. Her last 3 races were all Grade 2. In her final race, the Gazelle Stakes, she beat both Royal Obsession and Mo d’Amour.
Go Maggie Go has only raced twice. That being said she is undefeated and the only horse in the Oaks with that title. She beat Paola Queen in the Grade 2, Gulfstream Park Oaks.
Dream Dance has raced 9 times before. She has finished all over the board but has the experience of 4 graded stakes and she did win her last race, an allowance, at Keeneland.
Mo Kat is one of 2 Uncle Mo sired fillies in the Oaks. The Kentucky Derby is heavy with Uncle Mo progeny as well. She has had 7 starts and though she has not won since her maiden she has placed or showed in 3 graded stakes.
Mo d’Amour is the other Uncle Mo offspring in this field. She has raced 6 times with 3 wins and 2 times in 3rd. Two of these races were graded stakes.
Royal Obsession has had only 4 starts but has won twice and been 2nd in another race. She has been beaten by Venus Valentine before in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes and LewisBay in the Gazelle.
Paola Queen has 5 races behind her. It took her the 1st four times to break her maiden but then she jumped right into a second place finish in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. Maybe her time has come?
Venus Valentine has been 1st, 4th or 5th in her last 5 of 6 races. She was the winner of the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra however. In her other graded stakes race, her last race, she came in 5th.
Rachel’s Valentina is the favorite. Her dam is Rachel Alexandra, winner of the 2009 KY Oaks. No Oaks winning dam has ever foaled an Oaks winning filly. This could be the 1st time? In her 4 career starts she has won twice and placed twice. Her last 3 races have all been graded stakes races. Pictured above is from her 2nd place finish behind Songbird in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies races. Land Over Sea and Dothraki Queen finished behind her.
Cathryn Sophia won her 1st of 4 races but in her 3rd graded stakes she was 3rd in a tight finish with Weep No More and Lewis Bay. She probably still has what it takes.
LandOver Sea is trained by Doug O’Neill who also trains the KY Derby Favorite, Nyquist. She is experienced with 8 starts. 7 times she has finished in the top 3. Her last 3 races were all graded stakes. This horse has the practice and she won her last time out at the Grade 2, Fair Ground Oaks.
Taxable has only 3 starts to her name. She broke her maiden at Churchill. She shares her trainer, Asmussen, with Terra Promessa. Taxable was 2nd behind Terra Promessa in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes.
Finally, should there be a scratch, Dothraki Queen may get a chance at the Oaks. She has raced 6 times before. Her first race, after her maiden, put her on the path to the Oaks. She won the Pocahontas, the 1st of 5 stakes races but she has never been 1st since and in her last race, the Appalachian stakes, she was 8th.
Fun Facts:
Lovely Maria won last year
Rachel Alexandra has the largest winning margin at 20 1/4 lengths
The flower is the Stargazer Lilly, the winner will be blanketed in these
The Charity is “Bright Pink”, to raise funds for fighting breast and ovarian cancer
The prizes: a sterling silver statue kept at the Kentucky Derby Museum and engraved with all the winners names, 12 Julep Cups to share and purse money
The purse is 1 million dollars
The color is pink
The channel to watch is NBCSN from 12:30 to 6 PM EST
Race 1 of the 13 race card at Churchill posts at 10:30 A.M EST
Enjoy the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby Post positions were announced as I was writing this. That story shall follow tomorrow. Keep Thoroughbred U bookmarked as a quick reference for the information you may need.Share This:
Yesterday was cold and wet but I was still a happy lady because I was back at my favorite track, Keeneland in Lexington, KY. Friday, 10/2/15, was the 1st day of Keeneland’s Fall meet. It was also the beginning of Fall Stars weekend. This meet, Keeneland will host 16 graded stakes races between October 2 through the 24th. The total purse value is over 5 million dollars. 8 of the races allow the winner to automatically qualify for Breeders’ Cup races. These races are termed, “Win and You’re In”. I was there to see Gomo and Runhappy qualify.
Fall Stars weekend had 2 “Win and You’re In” races yesterday. Today will feature 3 more and Sunday will have 2 of these stakes as well. Race 8, yesterday, was the 163rd running of the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Grade 3 stakes race. The purse was $250,000. Runhappy won on the sloppy track by 1 and 3/4 lengths. He won a Grade 1 stakes in Saratoga in August, his last race. His jockey is E.S. Prado, he is trained by M. Borrell, and is owned by James McIngvale. We will see Runhappy again at the same track at the month’s end in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint!
The next race, 9, was the feature of the day. That race was the 64th running of The Darley Alcibiades. It was a Grade 1 stakes race with a purse of $400,000. Gomo won by 2 and 3/4 lengths in the mud. That is her crossing the finish line above. She is owned by J. Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing, LLC. Her trainer is Doug O’Neil. Mario Gutierrez is her jockey. Gomo was sired by Uncle Mo. She will next race in the Juvenile Fillies Division in the Breeders’ Cup.
I had hoped to share, with all of you, pictures of some of the newest additions to Keeneland in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup but the weather kept me inside. I did however come across a new menu item, The Chicago Style Reuben. I have long been a fan of Keeneland’s traditional Reuben but I enjoyed this one as well, so much so that I ate half before considering taking a photo! I took in views of the paddock changes, the trophy, and a bit of educational BC artwork too.
It is still cool and overcast today but I am hoping a little drier. I am going back to see the races including race 6, The Thoroughbred Club of America stakes (G2), race 8, The Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity stakes (G1) and race 9, The Shadwell Turf Mile stakes (G1). They are at 4pm EST, 5:10 PM and 5:45 PM respectively. The purses are $200,000, $500,000 and 1 million dollars, in this order. I love the name Heykittykittykitty in the 6th! In the 9th Bobby’s Kitten will compete against The Pizza Man. The Pizza Man’s last race was the Arlington Million Grade 1 stakes in August where he won his third race in a row!
I am mostly excited today to see the parading of Wise Dan. He is to be shown in the paddock and walking ring during the 3rd race around 2:15 PM EST and then before the grandstand after that race. He has been living at Keeneland for a while and I have always tried and failed to see him. He won the Shadwell Turf Mile last year and in 2012. He recently retired but prior to that he was American Horse of the Year twice, American Champion Older Male Horse twice and American Champion Male Turf Horse two times also.
Sunday, will have a full day of racing including the $250,000 Dixiana Bourbon stakes (G3) and the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster stakes (G1). The Dixiana will go off about 5:10 PM EST, as race 8 of the day, immediately followed by race 9 at 5:45. In the 8th I like the name Camelot Kitten and in the 9th we see last year’s Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable battle against this year’s winner Lovely Maria!
I hope everyone has a great day and maybe makes a little bit of money. I will get those Wise Dan photos today rain or shine! Now, I must go fix my hair and bundle up.Share This:
I have not had the opportunity to make any recent trips but my mom went up to New Jersey for a week recently. She was kind enough to do a little drive by photography of Monmouth Park during her travels. This was the site of American Pharoah’s last race.
American Pharoah won the 48th William Hill Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey on August 2, 2015. There was a huge crowd of 60,983 fans in the stands that day. There was a large crowd there in 2007, as well, when Monmouth hosted the Breeders’ Cup. When my mother was on the property, this past Saturday, she said there was a good crowd, despite the negatively slanted media’s opinion. The fans were there to watch a full race card and the Grade III Monmouth Oaks. This race first took place in 1871 and is the oldest active Oaks race in America. This year the race was 1 and 1/16 miles long for 3 year olds with purse money of $100,000. Paco Lopez won riding Delightful Joy. She is a Tapit filly and this was her first graded stakes win. She beat out Eskenformoney who ran in the Kentucky Oaks and the Mother Goose Stakes, which I have previous stories about each of those races on my website. White Clover owned by Calumet Farms showed 3rd in that race.
Having Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah participate in the Haskell was great for the track and the community. Ahmed Zayat, American Pharoah’s owner lives in New Jersey. The NJ State Senate was so pleased with the excellence in which Monmouth Park handled the Haskell that they honored the track for its success in doing so. The track has been managed out of three buildings since 1870 with occasional closures. It is my hope that this track has many years to go and to host some wonderful races.
Mom quickly spotted her home city posted on a truck at Monmouth Park. The Horse Capital of the World, Lexington, KY is the headquarters for Sallee Horse Vans. They have a hub at Monmouth Park. It is estimated that over 50,000 horses this year will travel by Sallee. They have over 200 routes that cover over 4 million miles. This family owned business has been in place since 1963. In Lexington they even have a nice 16 stall barn.
Monmouth Park was where American Pharoah’s last raced and I have been waiting all this time to see his next race. Tomorrow, August 29th he will finally run again. This race is the Travers Stakes, to take place in Pharoahtoga… well Saratoga, NY. I had a nice story earlier in the month about Saratoga race track. Check it out on my website. Secretariat also chose to race at Saratoga following his Triple Crown win. He ran in the Whitney Stakes. The Travers, named for William R. Travers, one of the tracks founders, began in 1864. Some call it Saratoga’s Midsummer Derby. It is the most popular day of Saratoga’s summer race meet. The race is Grade I for 3 years olds with a purse of $1,600,000. The distance is 1 and 1/4 miles on the dirt. Post time is 5:46 p.m. EST. It will be covered live on NBC. Should AmericanPharoah win he will be awarded the Man O’ War Cup by Tiffany and Co. and he will be blanketed with carnations.
The post positions are:
Upstart
American Pharoah
Mid Ocean
Texas Red
Frammento
Frosted
Keen Ice
Tale of Verve
King of New York
Smart Transition
As good as American Pharoah is, this is still a tough race. Any of these horses could win. Frosted and Texas Red have the next best current odds. American Pharoah was able to bring his favorite traveling partner along with him to this race, despite a minor injury prior. Smokey The Pony will not only be there but Donna Brothers, former jockey and current Thoroughbred racehorse reporter, will ride him while doing race coverage for NBC. Smokey flew with American Pharoah to Lexington,KY where they picked up Funny Cide and then flew on to Albany. I wish the airport had a fan lot like they sometimes do for the University of Kentucky Basketball team. I really wanted to see the 3 equines. I just spent time with Funny Cide at the Kentucky Horse Park recently. I posted that story to my website the last day of July. Funny Cide is a Saratoga bred horse who raced there twice and has won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He was on view in Saratoga’s paddock on August 27th.
Keep on following American Pharoah, where I hope he wins the Travers and then the Breeders’ Cup. I wish everyone a safe and lucky weekend! Don’t forget, we can watch American Pharoah’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, on the new season of Dancing With the Stars starting 9/14/15. To see more stories and those I mentioned during this post, follow my page on Facebook or Twitter and you can always go straight to my website, as well.
Update: Frosted was third, American Pharaoh was second and congratulations to Keen Ice, the winner of the 2015 Travers! I am so happy that no jockey or horse was inured during the race and I look forward to all the participants exciting futures.Share This:
