Crazy Beautiful rallies to win Gulfstream Park Oaks for McPeek
One year after winning the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) with eventual champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver, trainer Ken McPeek equaled the feat on Saturday with Crazy Beautiful at Gulfstream Park.
Crazy Beautiful and jockey Jose Ortiz launched from dead-last to score in the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks and collect 100 qualifying points towards next month's Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Sent off as the 2-1 second choice behind favored Con Lima, Crazy Beautiful returned $6.00 while winning in a final time of 1:44.41 for 1 1/16-miles.
“We were here a year ago. I was really proud of that win,” McPeek said. “Maybe we can accomplish half as much this year.”
Millefeuille took the field into the stretch, but proved no match for the winner late to be second and earn 40 Kentucky Oaks points. The Juddmonte Farms' homebred now has 44 points in all and a likely spot in the starting gate the last Friday in April. She was followed across the wire by Competitive Speed (20 points, 30 total) and Con Lima (10).
For Ortiz, it was the third stakes win on the program. He earlier won the Sir Shackelton with Basin and Sanibel Island with I Get It.
“I just wanted to sit there and make sure she got into a good rhythm on the backstretch and she did," Ortiz said. "I saved some ground on the first turn and I saved some ground on the second turn. Kenny told me that she was a nice filly, so I rode her with confidence.”
Owned by Phoenix Thoroughbreds, Crazy Beautiful returned from a nearly fourth-month layoff to be a distant second behind Wholebodemeister in the Feb. 27 Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream in her 3-year-old bow. In five starts last year, the daughter of Liam's Map won the Ellis Park Debutante, was second in both the Pocahontas (G3) and Alcibiades (G1), then closed out the campaign with a sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
McPeek looks to have a strong hand for the Kentucky Oaks. In addition to Crazy Beautiful, he is also likely to have Simply Ravishing in the starting gate. She is set to have her final prep in next weekend's Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.