Runners who came home in the wake of Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) winner Monomoy Girl will take the next step on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots March 24 without that rival to contend with.
Monomoy Girl, a 2 1/2-length winner in the Feb. 17 race, will make her next start in the April 7 Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.
The 5-2 morning-line favorite in a field of nine for the $400,000 TwinSpires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) is Carl R. Moore Management's Classy Act, who will break from the rail. Trained by Bret Calhoun, the daughter of Into Mischief made her stakes debut last time out in the Rachel Alexandra and claimed the place behind Monomoy Girl to earn 20 qualifying points, good for 11th on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.
"She's been like the iron horse," Calhoun said. "She's had some hard races, and she's run hard. She keeps getting better and better. She just needs to learn how to turn off a little bit, and she's learning that. I think in her last race, a horse next to her was acting up a little bit in the gate, and she lost her concentration when they opened the gates. I think if she (leaves) there on time, she's up there cruising a lot more relaxed. Since (jockey) Javier (Castellano) had to smooch at her to keep her running, she got a little more keen."
Classy Act broke her maiden at fourth asking by four lengths over a yielding turf course at Fair Grounds in December before defeating winners over the Fair Grounds main track the following month.
The winner of the Fair Grounds Oaks will secure a spot in the 14-horse starting gate on the first Friday in May, as the race awards points to the top four finishers on a 100-40-20-10 scale.
Calhoun will also send out Craig Upham's Patrona Margarita, who breaks from post 5 at 10-1 odds under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. Like her stablemate, the Texas-bred daughter of Special Rate also ran in the Rachel Alexandra but finished fourth, beaten 7 1/4 lengths. The Rachel Alexandra was her first start since an upset win at 23-1 in the Sept. 16 Pocahontas Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.
Breaking from post 8 is Wonder Gadot, the only filly in the race to have competed in the other two local preps on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, the Ontario-bred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro made her sophomore debut in the Silverbulletday Stakes as the favorite but finished second, beaten a neck behind Stronger Than Ever.
In the Rachel Alexandra, Wonder Gadot finished third, 3 3/4 lengths behind Monomoy Girl. As a 2-year-old, she broke her maiden in her debut, which took place in an allowance race over the Woodbine turf course. She went on to win two graded stakes events as a juvenile—the Mazarine Stakes (G3) on Woodbine's Polytrack and the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) on dirt at Aqueduct Racetrack. Her only off-the-board effort took place in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), where she finished sixth.
One newcomer is Magdalena Racing, Gainesway Stables, and Harold Lerner's Eskimo Kisses, a daughter of To Honor and Serve who will seek her third straight victory for trainer Kenny McPeek. Both of her last efforts took place at Oaklawn Park, where she broke her maiden Feb.1 and then romped in an allowance race by 11 1/2 lengths later that month.
Double Doors Racing's Chocolate Martini will look to continue her climb up the ladder following an upset win in an allowance race over the Fair Grounds main track at odds of 27-1 when she finished a neck ahead of next-out winner Haynesfest. Trainer Tom Amoss claimed the daughter of Broken Vow from Calhoun for $25,000 two starts back.
Rounding out the field are Saguaro Row, America's Tale, She's A Julie, and Testing One Two.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, March 24, 2018, Race 10Entries: Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Classy Act (KY) Javier Castellano 122 W. Bret Calhoun 5/2 2 2Saguaro Row (KY) Gary L. Stevens 122 Brendan P. Walsh 12/1 3 3America's Tale (KY) Marcelino Pedroza 122 Bernard S. Flint 10/1 4 4Eskimo Kisses (KY) Florent Geroux 122 Kenneth G. McPeek 9/2 5 5Patrona Margarita (TX) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 122 W. Bret Calhoun 10/1 6 6She's a Julie (KY) Corey J. Lanerie 122 Steven M. Asmussen 15/1 7 7Testing One Two (LA) Diego Saenz 122 Victor Arceneaux 10/1 8 8Wonder Gadot (ON) John R. Velazquez 122 Mark E. Casse 3/1 9 9Chocolate Martini (KY) Mitchell Murrill 122 Thomas M. Amoss 10/1
