Zipse: Zany flashes Kentucky Oaks potential in Demoiselle
For all his money invested, good horses, and big races won, owner Mike Repole has yet to win the Kentucky Derby. The outspoken New Yorker has also never won the Kentucky Oaks, for that matter. Who knows when his Derby will come, but he might have a filly to make a real run at the Oaks in 2026 with Zany.
Bet down to heavy 3-4 favoritism in the $250,000, Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes on Saturday, the daughter of American Pharoah treated five other will-intentioned juvenile fillies badly as she ran up the score down the Aqueduct stretch to win by an easy 8 1/2-lengths.
Conditioned by Repole’s main man, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Zany came into the 9-furlong Demoiselle with only a flashy debut win as experience.
That initial victory came at Gulfstream Park five weeks ago when the $350,000 yearling purchase made a fine first impression by running away from her closest competition by 6 1/2-lengths.
She ran fast all the way around that afternoon in South Florida, but it was only a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race. How would she respond stretching out to 1 1/8-miles against stakes fillies? The majority of bettors had little doubt, and they were rewarded for their confidence.
With top rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. picking up the mount, Zany looked like a winner all the way around the Big A oval as she broke well and set out to stalk the early pace set by the Tempted Stakes winner Shilling.
As that one carved out steady early splits of :24.05, :48.16, and 1:12.46, Ortiz sat chilly in the saddle and appeared to have a ton of horse underneath him as Zany hounded the leader.
Turning for home, Zany made her move, and the Demoiselle was quickly decided. Striding out down the lane, she left no doubt as to which filly was much the best.
The pair of Jumping the Gun and Concurrently tried to make up ground from behind, and they easily went by Shilling in the stretch, but the second and third place finishers only lost ground to the very impressive winner.
Zany reached the finish line in hand and stopped the clock in a very solid final time of 1:50.55. It was the second fastest edition of the race in the last eleven years.
Bred in Kentucky by DJ Stable, the chestnut filly was sired by a Triple Crown champion who was able to carry his speed the twelve furlongs of the Belmont Stakes. Zany is out of the Uncle Mo mare Mo’ Green, who won the 9-furlong Top Flight (G3) at Aqueduct in 2017.
In victory, Zany collected 10 qualifying points towards entry to next spring’s Kentucky Oaks. More importantly, she proved herself a filly of quality who can get the distance.
By way of comparison to a promising Kentucky Derby prospect, Zany ran .42 seconds faster than a nice performance by Paladin in winning the Remsen Stakes (G2) for the males a few races later in the afternoon.
Considering the decidedly mixed bag of results in the Grade 1 races run for 2-year-old fillies in 2025, it would be difficult to name a filly who was more impressive than what Zany displayed in the Demoiselle. In fact, I cannot think of a single one.
Unbeaten and yet to be tested in her first two starts, Zany will head into the new year on a very short list of top candidates to wear the lilies on May 1, 2026. She may finally be the filly to give owner Mike Repole classic success at Churchill Downs.