Afleet Destiny targets New York's Kentucky Oaks 2019 trail

Afleet Destiny emerged from her runner-up finish in Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle in fine fettle according to her trainer Uriah St. Lewis, who is quickly developing a propensity for sending out long shots to hit the board in New York stakes races from his Pennsylvania base.

 

Positive Spirit put in the most dominant performance of Cigar Mile Day in the Demoiselle, registering a lopsided 10 ½-length victory over six other 2-year-old fillies in the 96th edition of the race, with Afleet Destiny rallying from the back of the pack to finish 2 ¼ lengths clear of third-place finisher Filly Joel.

 

Afleet Destiny, off at 26-1, came out of the race well and will now point to the series of stakes races the New York Racing Association offers as a stepping stone to the 2019 Kentucky Oaks, likely starting with the $150,000 Busanda on Feb. 3 at Aqueduct, according to St. Lewis.

 

"She came out of the race fantastic," said the trainer. "This particular filly has some real ability, we just needed to go long. We knew once she got going two turns, she would show her true path, and she wasn't even tight enough. She came out and ate good, so we'll give her a couple weeks off then train toward the Busanda. We're going to stay in New York with her."

 

Discreet Lover put the Trinidadian horseman squarely on the map this year with his breakthrough victory in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, to go along with a win in the Grade 3 Excelsior at the Big A and third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 2 Suburban at Saratoga Race Course and Belmont, respectively.