Kentucky Oaks

Not to be lost off the heels of a very productive weekend of GI Kentucky Derby/Oaks preps for the Chad Brown barn--more on that in a bit--the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer recently unveiled a pair of ultra-impressive, stakes-quality Euro imports for allowance victories. Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square (GB) (f, 4, Night of Thunder {Ire}), heroine of Deauville's G3 Prix des Reservoirs at two for trainer Roger Charlton, turned in an eye-catching, 2 1/4-length come-from-behind tally in her U.S. bow over the Keeneland lawn Wednesday, rocketing home in :28.21. She was...

After the busiest weekend of the year for 3-year-old fillies eyeing the GI Kentucky Oaks, the field is pretty much set for the race. There were four preps over the weekend, which was a problem. There are not enough top horses to go around to fill that many races, so the fields were six, six, six and four. It looks like the Oaks will be highly competitive. There is no one standout. Instead, you will have a number of horses in with a chance and a favorite who should be...

A limited number of infield-only general admission tickets for the Apr. 30 GI Longines Kentucky Oaks and May 1 GI Kentucky Derby day cards at Churchill Downs will go on sale Wednesday at noon at kentuckyderby.com/tickets/2021-derby-week-tickets. "The Kentucky Derby experience is synonymous with fun and excitement and we're thrilled to welcome fans back to our infield," said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson. "We remain committed to relying on the most recent scientific evidence we have surrounding COVID-19, and with Kentucky Derby week three weeks away, we are encouraged by...

Trainer Brad Cox was plenty pleased with how champion juvenile and 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) exited Saturday's hard-fought decision in Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. "He looks good this morning and I am happy with the way he came out of the race," Cox said Sunday. "I liked that he got a test yesterday. It was not like he just galloped up to the leader and went on by." Essential Quality will join Cox's string at Churchill Downs after training Monday to prepare for the GI Kentucky...

Stepping up into graded company fresh off a debut maiden victory over six furlongs, SOOTHSAY (f, 3, Distorted Humor--Spellbound, by Bernardini) was given a tremendous ride by leading jockey Flavien Prat, met the late-stretch bid of favored Beautiful Gift (Medaglia d'Oro), and went on to a gutsy victory in Saturday's GII Santa Anita Oaks in Arcadia. While Beautiful Gift and Moraz (Empire Maker) took the bulk of the betting and battled up front in a rematch of the GIII Santa Ysabel S., Soothsay tracked those two from behind. The opening quarter...

Klaravich Stables' Search Results (Flatter) remained undefeated and stamped her ticket to the GI Kentucky Oaks with a decisive victory while making her two-turn bow in Aqueduct's nine-panel GIII Gazelle S. Saturday. Graduating by four lengths in her six-panel unveiling at Gulfstream Jan. 3, she captured the one-mile Busher Invitational S. at the Big A next out Mar. 6. Hammered down to 2-5 favoritism to repeat in this step up to graded company, the $310,000 KEESEP acquisition was away in good order from the outside post in this eight-horse affair....

Regally bred Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) is among seven fillies hoping to stamp their tickets to the GI Kentucky Oaks in Saturday's GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn. A daughter of Grade I winner Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union), the gray earned her diploma at third asking in a sloppy two-turn test at Fair Grounds Feb. 12 and rallied to be a close second next out in this venue's GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 6. Honeybee third-place finisher Sun Path (Munnings) looks to break through at the black-type level here. A second-out graduation...

Blue-blooded 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat (Curlin) looks to follow in her dam and grand-dam's hoofprints by adding a Grade I to her perfect resume Saturday in the GI Central Bank Ashland S. at Keeneland. A debut winner going seven panels at Belmont Oct. 9, the $1.05-million KEESEP purchase romped by 7 3/4 lengths in the one-mile Tempted S. at Aqueduct Nov. 6. She proved distance was no issue when coming alive late with a determined rally to capture a sloppy renewal of the nine-panel GII Demoiselle S. at the Big...

Klaravich Stables' lightly-raced Search Results (Flatter) will try to make it two stakes wins in three career starts and punch her ticket to the GI Kentucky Oaks for trainer Chad Brown in the GIII Gazelle S. Saturday at Aqueduct. Unveiled Jan. 3 going six furlongs at Gulfstream, the $310,000 Keeneland September buy ran away to a four-length victory. Stepped up and stretched out to a mile in the local Busher Invitational S. Mar. 6, the dark bay responded with a hard-fought half-length victory over the more seasoned Miss Brazil (Palace...

The picture for the GI Kentucky Oaks might look a lot different late Saturday afternoon than it does at the present. There are four races on tap-the GIII Gazelle S., the GI Ashland S., the GIII Fantasy and the GII Santa Anita Oak--that will feature more than a dozen serious candidates for the last Friday in April. Five horses among our top 10 are slated to go. Meanwhile, last weekend's action featured a win in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks for Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) and a strong showing for...

Winless since last August, 'TDN Rising Star' Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) marked her return to the winner's circle in style, taking Saturday's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks. Sent off at 5-2 while searching for her first graded stakes victory, she was settled at the back of the compact field as 6-5 choice Con Lima showed the way through initial fractions of :24.16 and :48.69. Rallying from the back as the field compressed approaching the quarter pole, the Ken McPeek trainee strode through the center of the group and continued to gain...

Trainer Ken McPeek, who won last year's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks with 3-year-old filly champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), will look to take a second straight renewal of the 1 1/16-mile race when he saddles Phoenix Thoroughbreds' Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) Saturday in Hallandale. The gray filly, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, was second in both the GIII Pocahontas S. and GI Darley Alcibiades S. last fall before ending her juvenile campaign with a sixth-place effort in the Nov. 6 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She rallied from well back to finish...