Kentucky Oaks prep: 3-for-3 Good Cheer lines up in Golden Rod

Undefeated Godolphin homebred Good Cheer will face a talented field of seven 2-year-old fillies entered in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/16-mile dirt race awards qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale toward the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks.

The Golden Rod, scheduled as race 9, will have a post time of 4:48 p.m. EST. The 12-race program next Saturday begins at 1 p.m. EST and also features the $400,000 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), a Kentucky Derby prep season race, along with the $225,000 Ed Brown and $225,000 Fern Creek.

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Trained by Brad Cox, Good Cheer has dazzled in all three of her starts. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro was a dominant winner of the Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs on Oct. 27, drawing off by 5 1/2 lengths. Earlier in her campaign, Good Cheer captured an allowance race by an eye-popping 17 lengths and broke her maiden at Horseshoe Indianapolis with an 8 1/4-length romp. Leading rider Luis Saez retains the mount and will break from post 3.

Joining Good Cheer in the starting gate for the Golden Rod is her stablemate Éclatant, owned by Stonestreet Stables. The undefeated daughter of Into Mischief is 2-for-2, both victories coming in sprints. The Golden Rod will mark her first attempt around two turns. Jockey Florent Geroux has the call from post 1.

The field also includes Shortleaf Stable’s Quietside, a multiple Grade 1-placed runner trained by John Ortiz. Quietside burst onto the scene in August with a 6 1/4-length maiden-breaking victory at Saratoga under Saez. Since then, the daughter of Violence has finished second in the Spinaway (G1) and third in the Alcibiades (G1), both behind eventual Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Immersive. With Saez opting to ride Good Cheer, jockey Tyler Gaffalione has the mount from post 4.