"I was most afraid of (French Satin) her in the paddock," said trainer Steven W. Standridge. "She gets fractious and has had flips before and I was worried about her. It's kind of normal, but this is the first time she's come a long way to race. She came in yesterday morning. We expected her to go to the lead and Ramon slowed her down nice and she had enough left at the end to win." French Satin returned $5, $3.40, and $2.80. Romancin Dixie paid $6.60 and $4.20. Ciudad de Carson paid $6.40. The winning exacta combination paid $37.40. (Chart, Equibase)
French Satin set moderate fractions, then repelled a bid by Ease Ahead and Ciudad de Carson en route to a 1 3/4-length victory in Sunday's $150,000 Florida Oaks (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs. Under Ramon Dominguez, the 3-2 favorite completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.49 on a fast track.Romancin Dixie closed for second, a length ahead of Ciudad de Carson. Ease Ahead, Miss Halory, Aly Quatorze, Our Dear Jade, What a Sweep, Chula, and Elementary completed the order of finish.Sabine Stable's homebred French Satin, a 3-year-old daughter of French Deputy, earned $90,000 for her third win from nine career starts. Last time out, she finished third in the Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park. She began the year with a third place finish in the Old Hat Stakes before finishing fourth in the Forward Gal Stakes (gr. III).
