Go Maggie Go steps up big to win the Gulfstream Park Oaks

In just her second career start, Go Maggie Go did not let a class test or muddy conditions bother her en route to a rousing victory in the 1 1/16 mile $250,000 Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks at Gulfstream Park.

From her rail position, Paola Queen and jockey Javier Castellano gunned for the lead and got it. Go Maggie Go and Hold On Momma took up position right behind her, trading the second and third spots throughout the early stages of the race. Race favorite Off the Tracks settled in fourth followed by Double Entendre and Mo' Green, with second betting choice Gomo bringing up the rear.

Not much changed in the running order down the backstretch with Paolo Queen continuing to show the way. Closely hounded by Go Maggie Go and Hold On Momma, she clicked off splits off :23.09 and :46.70.

As the field entered the turn, Go Maggie Go poked her head in front as Off the Tracks ranged up to make a bid for the lead, too. With 6 furlongs up in a solid 1:11.16, it looked as though the betting public had it right with Off the Tracks as she briefly gained the lead.

After the race, trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled Off the Tracks, passed along his jockey's assessment of the race. "I thought she ran okay," he said. "Johnny (Velazquez) thought she didn't really handle the muddy surface that well. She put in a pretty good move on the turn and then kinda flattened out a little bit."

Not to be outdone, Go Maggie Go, with Luis Saez in the irons, battled back and began to draw away, crossing under the wire clear by 2 1/4-lengths. The winning time was 1:43.74 on a sloppy, sealed track.

After the race, Saez was pleased with both his trip and his filly. "I had a perfect trip. She broke good and was right there," he explained. "When we came to the half-mile pole and I asked her, I had a lot of horse. In the stretch I thought somebody might come and get me, but when I hit her, she responded."

Though out-finished by the winner, Paolo Queen continued on strongly, as well, saving second place by 1/2-length over Off the Tracks. Gomo closed from last to round out the superfecta, 5 lengths behind Off the Tracks. Double Entendre, Mo' Green, and Hold On Momma completed the order of finish.

Off 4-1 odds, Go Maggie Go paid $10.00/$4.60/$2.60. Runner-up Paolo Queen returned $5.60/$2.80 off odds of 9-2, and 4/5 favorite Off the Tracks returned $2.20 for the show. The $2 exacta paid $37.00, the $1 trifecta returned $42.80, and the $0.10 superfecta was worth $14.13.

By Ghostzapper and out of the Tale of the Cat mare Magibel, Go Maggie Go is a home-bred for owner Mike Tarp. In taking her stakes debut, Go Maggie Go improved her record to 2: 2-0-0 for purse earnings of $174,000.

Less than a month ago, Go Maggie Go had not even faced the starter. She rectified that on March 13 when she took a 6 furlong maiden special weight by 4 lengths over this very same track. With a 'Go Big or Go Home' attitude, trainer Dale Romans decided to give his charge the acid test in the Oaks, and less than three weeks removed from her first start and win, Go Maggie Go picked up her first graded stakes victory and 100 Kentucky Oaks points.

Speaking of his decision to run Go Maggie Go in the Oaks rather than in a potentially softer spot, trainer Romans said, “She’s just quality, and when they’re doing as good as her and they’re the quality she is, you can run in an a-other-than and win by 15 and say why didn’t I run in a stake? There was only seven horses in here. If you run third you’re worth a lot of money. If she can do that, she can win so why not be here? We can always back up for a $50,000 pot.”

As to a trip to Churchill Downs next month, Romans stated, "I would think so. We’ll train her and if she’s training good and doing good like she was going into this, that’s the key. You have to just know when they’re doing good. She was training so good, why not take a shot?”

For their second, third and fourth place finishes, Paolo Queen, Off the Tracks and Gomo earned 40, 20 and 10 points respectively towards a start in next month's Kentucky Oaks.

Trainer Doug O'Neill indicated that the Kentucky Oaks is still the plan for fourth place finisher Gomo, too. “I thought she ran dynamite off the layoff. To run fourth in the Florida Oaks is sensational off the layoff," he enthused. "The track was heavy, so I thought she ran great. This race will really tighten her up for the Kentucky Oaks. We’ll plan for that and play it by ear.”