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It was a dreary day at Churchill Downs on Friday after early morning rainstorms left the track a sloppy mess and the turf course yielding, although the sun did manage to come out by the Oaks. There were five additional stakes on the Kentucky Oaks undercard with the second biggest of the day being the $300,000 Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2) for the older fillies and mares. Here are the results for all five in the order they were run. Kentucky Oaks results are here.
The Edgewood Stakes - 1 1/16 miles on the turf for 3-year-old fillies
The $116,700 Edgewood Stakes featured three-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Edgar Prado kept 8-1 shot Galloping Gal at the back of the pack over six furlongs then came out eight wide on the turn, closing strongly through the stretch to get up for the win by a neck over 4-1 second choice Gingham and Lace, in 1:43.00 over the good course. It was another 3 1/2 lengths back to 5-1 shot Dynaville in third, and 1/2 a length to 7-2 favorite Vous in fourth. Winning jockey Prado said, "She was rolling pretty good there at the finish and I thought I was going to get up. They got a lot of stretch to work in here and it was enough for me today. She's a big filly with a big stride, so I just went outside and gave her her best shot at it." Trainer Ken McPeek added, "She disappointed us with her last two efforts, but today she made up for it. We worked with her to get her relaxed, and today she was perfect. I thought the softer ground actually helped her."
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 8 Galloping Gal Prado 17.20 8.60 6.80 6 Gingham and Lace Bailey 6.00 7.20 9 Dyneville Perret 5.80 Winning Time: 1:43.00 $2 Exacta 8-6 89.00 $2 Trifecta 8-6-9 799.60 $2 Superfecta 8-6-9-10 2265.60 |
The Alysheba Stakes - 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and up
The $113,600 Alysheba Stakes was for older horses at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. 4-1 second choice Congrats led the field through a half in 48.04, briefly relinquished the lead down the backstretch, then came back to win by 1 3/4 lengths over 11-10 favorite Perfect Drift, in 1:44.31 over the sloppy main track. It was another 3/4 length back to 10-1 shot Kodema in third. Winning jockey John Velazquez said, "I expected more to be laying third or fourth here, but my instructions were to keep him in the clear. When he went for the lead, he sure stayed in the clear. "In the past, he didn't handle a wet track, but today was no problem at all. I just kept him busy in the lane, which is what you do usually. But he did his job." Trainer Shug McGaughey said that Congrats could go next in the Stephen Foster Handicap on June 12.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 2 Congrats Velazquez 9.60 4.00 3.40 5 Perfect Drift Day 3.00 2.60 7 Kodema Solis 4.00 Winning Time: 1:44.31 $2 Exacta 2-5 21.80 $2 Trifecta 2-5-7 143.60 $2 Superfecta 2-5-7-6 851.60 |
The Aegon Turf Sprint - 5 furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and up
The Grade 3 Aegon Turf Sprint featured older horses sprinting 5 furlongs on the turf course, Pat Day took 8-1 shot Lydgate six wide around the turn after settling in seventh early, then closed strongly to get up by a length over 7-2 favorite Mighty Beau in 56.56 seconds. It was just 1/2 length back to 4-1 shot Banned in Boston in third. Trainer Eoin Harty said, "It's taken me a long time to figure this horse out. I've always thought he was of this quality, but he's had some questionable performances that I think were more related to pace. In his last race, we had the rider take a hold of him and settle him and that made a huge difference."
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 11 Lydgate Day 17.40 7.40 4.60 2 Mighty Beau Sellers 5.00 3.20 3 Banned in Boston Blanc 3.60 Winning Time: 0:56.56 $2 Exacta 11-2 76.20 $2 Trifecta 11-2-3 438.60 $2 Superfecta 11-2-3-7 2282.80 |
The Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap - 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up
The Grade 2 Louisville Breeders' Cup featured older fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the main track for a $327,000 purse. 10-1 longshot Lead Story saved ground on the inside while at the back of the six-horse field early, then came out four wide on the far turn, opening a clear lead inside the final furlong and then holding off the late bid of 5-1 second choice Yell to win by 3/4 length in 1:44.37. It was 3 lengths back to 7-1 shot Cat Fighter in third, and another 3 1/4 lengths back to 2-5 favorite Sightseek in fourth. Trainer Carl Nafzger said, "She's always run well here. She's run well everywhere except when you've got a track like Gulfstream that doesn't give you any chance to close. Today, the pace was slow, I was scared that they might finish a lot stronger. But she came running as hard as she could." Apparently Sightseek did not like the sloppy track as her jockey Jerry Bailey said, "She stumbled five times on me warming up. She just couldn't handle it."
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 3 Lead Story Borel 9.60 4.00 3.40 1 Yell Day 3.00 2.60 4 Cat Fighter Solis 4.00 Winning Time: 1:44.37 $2 Exacta 3-1 80.20 $2 Trifecta 3-1-4 285.20 $2 Superfecta 3-1-4-2 1187.80 |
The Crown Royal American Turf - 1 1/16 miles turf for 3-year-olds
The Grade 3 Crown Royal American Turf saw a field of nine three-year-olds go 1 1/16 miles on the turf for a $113,000 purse. 11-10 favorite Kitten's Joy extended his winning streak to five and remained undefeated on the turf with a commanding 2 1/2 length win over 7-2 second choice Prince Arch, after an adventurous trip which saw him bumped at the start and again later, causing Jerry Bailey to have to ease him back to last place early. Going six wide turning for home, he advanced well through the stretch, gaining the lead by the 3/16 pole and drawing clear. Jockey Jerry Bailey said, "We had planned to come from the outside because it's a banked course and if it rains [the water] goes to the inside. I got roughed up leaving there but I knew I was eventually going to be about seven or eight and he was good enough to get it done." His trainer Dale Romans said he will consider shipping him to Royal Ascot for the St. James's Palace Stakes on June 15th.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 4 Kitten's Joy Bailey 4.20 2.80 2.60 3 Prince Arch Blanc 3.40 2.80 2 Capo Prado 4.80 Winning Time: 1:43.31 $2 Exacta 4-3 13.40 $2 Trifecta 4-3-2 92.60 $2 Superfecta 4-3-2-9 555.00 |
Photos courtesy of Tina Hines.
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