Photo by Joe Ullrich | CNHI Sports Indiana
LOUISVILLE — On a sloppy Churchill Downs race track that produced primarily front-running winners for the day, Bob Baffert’s Abel Tasman went from last to first to take the $1 million Kentucky Oaks in an upset win in front of a crowd of 105,100.
For owners China Horse Club and Clearsky Farms, jockey Mike Smith glided the filly to victory.
Off at odds of 9-1, Abel Tasman won the 143rd running of the Kentucky Oaks by 1 1/4 lengths over Daddy’s Lil Darling and completed the 1 1/8 mile race for 3-year-old fillies in 1:51.62. She returned $20.40 to win.
Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the full field of 14, Paradise Woods jumped to the lead early. With pressure from Miss Sky Warrior, Paradise Woods set blazing fractions of 22.79 for the first quarter and 46.24 for the half. Farrell sat patiently behind the front-runners. Rounding the far turn, Miss Sky Warrior took the lead from Paradise Woods and looked poised to give trainer Kelly Breen his first Kentucky Oaks win but gave way near the 1/16 pole and bowed to the challenges of the late-running Abel Tasman and Lockdown. Daddy’s Lil Darling was also flying at the end and was able to get up for second. Lockdown held a half-length lead over Vexatious to finish third.
Runner-up to Paradise Woods in the Santa Anita Oaks last time out, an equipment change provided Abel Tasman blinkers, which may have allowed her to turn the tables on her rival.
“Immediately after her second-place finish in the Santa Anita Oaks, (Smith and Baffert) both realized she probably needed a slight blinker,” Smith said. “She broke OK that day but was not 100 percent focused. She’d run for a 16th of a mile and then lose focus. The blinkers kept her from doing that today. “
Beaten favorite Paradise Woods faded to 11th — in only her fourth career start.
“What are you going to do?” trainer Richard Mandella asked. “That big race at Santa Anita might have taken a little too much out of her.”
Miss Sky Warrior fell back to finish in eighth place.
“First reaction was she lost her right front shoe,” Breen said. “I am not blaming anything, but it’s not easy to win the Kentucky Oaks with three shoes. Our game plan was to stick it to (Paradise Woods) and try and make the lead. Twenty-two and change is fast and we’ll regroup.”
The win represented Smith’s second Kentucky Oaks victory, having won with longshot Princess of Sylmar in 2013. It was the third Kentucky Oaks win for Baffert, who won in 1999 with Silverbulletday and 2011 with Plum Pretty.
“It’s just exciting to win the Kentucky Oaks,” Baffert said. “We’d like to have a horse in the Derby, but I’m so happy for the China Horse Club. They trusted me with the filly. And ‘Big Money’ Mike (Smith), what can you say? Incredible ride. We knew she was doing really well coming into this race.”
Story by Jessie Oswald | CNHI Sports Indiana