Kentucky Oaks 2024: 4 fillies have clinched their places
Three winners of major preps plus a prolific filly who was a runner-up Saturday have clinched places mathematically in the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks.
Tarifa from the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), Power Squeeze out of the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and Thorpedo Anna in the Fantasy (G2) were win-and-you’re-in qualifiers for the May 3 race that will have no more than 14 starters at Churchill Downs.
Zipse: Thorpedo Anna is looking good for the Oaks.
West Omaha, who has hit the board in all six of her races, earned her Kentucky Oaks invitation with her second-place finish Saturday in the Fantasy at Oaklawn. She already had accumulated points with her win in the Silverbulletday, a runner-up place in the Untapable and a third-place result in the Honeybee (G3).
The arithmetic says the cutline is at 76 points right now, but that is likely to drop as entries are taken and results come in for Friday’s Ashland (G1) at Keeneland and Saturday’s Gazelle (G3) at Aqueduct and Santa Anita Oaks (G2) in California.
Jody’s Pride looks safe with 65 points, but the winner of the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct can cement her place in the Oaks field with a top-four finish in the Ashland.
Fiona’s Magic, who was eighth Saturday in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, leads the waiting game. With 60 points, about the only way she would miss the run for the lilies would be if the top three finishers in all the remaining preps came from outside the current top 14.
Just F Y I, the Eclipse Award winner as the top juvenile filly last year, is one such horse who is on the outside looking in. Undefeated but also unraced since the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, she needs to finish first or second in the Ashland to be certain of getting to the Oaks. A top-four result, though, might do the trick.
The math says Gin Gin, Where’s My Ring, Copion, Candied and Life Talk need to win this week to get into the Oaks, but they, too, might advance with top-three finishes depending on what else happens in these races.
With points and earnings reported Saturday by Churchill Downs, these are the current clinch scenarios for Kentucky Oaks 2024:
| Kentucky Oaks 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Already clinched | Rank | Pts. | **Earnings | Need to clinch |
| Tarifa | 1st | 150 | $420,000 | |
| Power Squeeze | 2nd | 120 | $152,070 | |
| Thorpedo Anna | 3rd | 105 | $471,800 | |
| West Omaha | 4th | 90 | $241,250 | |
| Not quite | Rank | Pts. | **Earnings | Need to clinch |
| Jody’s Pride | 5th | 65 | $532,500 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, top 4 |
| Fiona’s Magic | 6th | 60 | $166,010 | |
| Tapit Jenallie | 7th | 54 | $216,725 | |
| Everland | 8th | 54 | $185,000 | |
| Lemon Muffin | 9th | 50 | $228,750 | |
| Into Champagne | 10th | 50 | $124,360 | |
| Ways and Means | 11th | 50 | $108,000 | |
| Manama Gold* | 50 | $90,000 | ||
| Our Pretty Woman | 12th | 50 | $80,000 | |
| V V's Dream | 13th | 48 | $410,105 | |
| Need work or help | Rank | Pts. | **Earnings | Need to clinch |
| Intricate | 14th | 45 | $308,455 | |
| Gin Gin | 15th | 41 | $130,708 | Sat., Gazelle (G3), AQU, top 2 |
| Just F Y I | 16th | 40 | $1,260,000 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, top 2 |
| Alpine Princess | 17th | 35 | $108,500 | |
| Recharge | 18th | 30 | $174,750 | |
| Perfect Shot | 19th | 25 | $60,000 | |
| Winnable* | 25 | $58,000 | ||
| Where’s My Ring | 20th | 25 | $52,000 | Sat., SA Oaks (G2), SA, win |
| Carmelina | 21st | 25 | $10,000 | |
| Scalable | 22nd | 22 | $107,200 | |
| Band of Gold | 23rd | 21 | $149,400 | |
| She’s a Tempest | 24th | 21 | $24,000 | |
| Maxisuperfly | 25th | 20 | $90,680 | |
| Kopion | 26th | 20 | $80,000 | Sat., SA Oaks (G2), SA, win |
| Candied | 27th | 19 | $538,050 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win |
| Life Talk | 28th | 19 | $287,500 | Sat., Gazelle (G3), AQU, win |
| Accommodate Eva* | 17 | $39,000 | ||
| Neom Beach | 29th | 16 | $76,500 | |
| All Things Go | 30th | 15 | $39,375 | |
| Whocouldaskformo | 31st | 15 | $25,940 | |
| Leslie’s Rose | 32nd | 15 | $19,800 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win |
| Gun Song | 33rd | 15 | $12,000 | |
| Shimmering Allure | 34th | 13 | $173,375 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win |
| Candy Aisle | 35th | 10 | $198,500 | |
| West Sunset | 36th | 10 | $123,000 | |
| Denim and Pearls | 37th | 10 | $83,000 | |
| Queen’s Martini | 38th | 10 | $39,600 | |
| Barbratina* | 10 | $28,800 | Sat., Gazelle (G3), AQU, win | |
| Princess Mayfair | 39th | 10 | $23,000 | |
| Aoife’s Magic* | 10 | $22,000 | ||
| Youknownothing* | 10 | $9,500 | ||
| Ultimate Authority | 40th | 10 | $6,000 | |
| Sistina Chapel | 41st | 9 | $25,000 | |
| Living Magic | 42nd | 6 | $180,317 | |
| Simply Enchanting | 43rd | 6 | $24,750 | |
| America's Vow | 44th | 6 | $12,500 | |
| Midshipman’s Dance | 45th | 5 | $101,750 | |
| Regulatory Risk | 46th | 5 | $8,000 | |
| Shiloh’s Mistress | 47th | 5 | $2,000 | |
| Alys Beach | 48th | 3 | $85,750 | |
| Cozee Rags | 49th | 2 | $28,360 | |
| Emery | 50th | 2 | $24,000 | |
| Halina’s Forte | 0 | $107,900 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win | |
| Impel | 0 | $0 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win | |
| Standoutsensation | 0 | $0 | Fri., Ashland (G1), KEE, win | |
| *Not nominated for Oaks | ||||
| **Non-restricted stakes |