Kentucky Oaks: Who's in, who's out with 1 prep weekend left
With one weekend left on the road to the May 6 Kentucky Oaks, three fillies are atop the leaderboard with triple-digit points totals.
If the draw were today, the cutoff for the 14 spots in the starting gate will be 20 qualifying points. But that's likely to rise because the weekend qualifiers offer six open spots worth 40 points or more.
In fact, the cut line could go way up. Of the top 14 on the leaderboard, if three of four win or finish second in their races, and if the others come into the race as noted above, the cut line could soar to 40.
Kathleen O. jumped to the top of the list after she improved her record to 4-for-4 with her win in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2). Another undefeated filly, Echo Zulu, is right behind with 130 points after winning the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) for her fifth win in as many starts.
This weekend's Kentucky Oaks preps kick off on Friday with the Ashland (G1) at Keeneland. Nest, with 20 points, could seal the deal for an Oaks start by finishing in the top four.
Saturday brings the Santa Anita Oaks (G2). Adare Manor, winner of the Las Virgenes (G3) for Bob Baffert, is expected here to make her Kentucky Oaks bid for new trainer Tim Yakteen.
Also on Saturday is the Gazelle (G3) at Aqueduct. Venti Valentine, who already has 54 Oaks points, is a probable, as is Shotgun Hottie, who might have some work to do with 21 points currently.
Each of those three preps offers 100-40-20-10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. On Sunday, Keeneland will host the Beaumont, which offers 10-4-2-1 points and might come in handy for fillies on the bubble. The only probables as of Sunday were Matareya and Lady Scarlet, neither of whom have Oaks points.
About 100 fillies have been nominated for the Oaks before the initial deadline. Another deadline is coming up April 16, though nominations may be made for $25,000 until the time of entry.
Among the non-nominees, Candy Raid and Beguine are expected to be submitted before the deadline. Yuugiri trainer Rodolphe Brisset told Horse Racing Nation Tuesday that she is likely to be entered in the Kentucky Oaks but that no definite decision has been made.
If Yuugiri is in, and if the reports on Candy Raid and Beguine are taken at their word, that puts the cut line at 21. If that were to hold, Adare Manor would need to finish first or second in the Santa Anita Oaks to make the Churchill Downs starting gate.
Here are the Kentucky Oaks standings confirmed by Churchill Downs on Saturday night. Fillies in bold type are listed as probable or possible for 100-40-20-10-point qualifiers this weekend.
| Rank | Horse | Points | Trainer | Earnings* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathleen O. | 150 | Shug McGaughey | $335,730 |
| 2 | Echo Zulu | 130 | Steve Asmussen | $1,665,000 |
| 3 | Yuugiri | 114 | Rodolphe Brisset | $508,050 |
| 4 | Secret Oath | 80 | D. Wayne Lukas | $436,707 |
| 5 | Goddess of Fire | 62 | Todd Pletcher | $154,375 |
| 6 | Turnerloose | 60 | Brad Cox | $516,700 |
| 7 | Hidden Connection | 57 | Bret Calhoun | $369,525 |
| 8 | Venti Valentine | 54 | Jorge Abreu | $50,000 |
| x | Candy Raid | 51 | Keith Desormeaux | $154,320 |
| x | Cleopatra's Charge | 50 | Gary Cross | $182,250 |
| 9 | Shahama | 50 | Todd Pletcher | $180,000 |
| x | Beguine | 40 | Dan Peitz | $120,000 |
| 10 | Bubble Rock | 30 | Brad Cox | $237,480 |
| 11 | Magic Circle | 23 | Rudy Rodriguez | $138,000 |
| 12 | Shotgun Hottie | 21 | William Morey | $59,000 |
| 13 | Nest | 20 | Todd Pletcher | $215,500 |
| 14 | Ain't Easy | 20 | Philip D'Amato | $132,000 |
| x | Ali Alley | 20 | Nancy Summers | $71,700 |
| 15 | Favor | 20 | Todd Pletcher | $40,000 |
| 16 | Classy Edition | 20 | Todd Pletcher | $39,200 |
| x | Arabian Gazelles | 20 | Bhupat Seemar | $30,000 |
| x | Running Legacy | 20 | Saffie Joseph Jr. | $24,750 |
| 17 | Juju's Map | 18 | Brad Cox | $580,000 |
| x | Tap Dancing Lady | 17 | Ronald Kahles | $47,600 |
| 18 | North County | 15 | Brendan Walsh | $74,800 |
| x | Catiche | 15 | Jonathan Thomas | $34,500 |
| 19 | Awake At Midnyte | 14 | Doug O'Neill | $90,000 |
| 20 | Cocktail Moments | 12 | Ken McPeek | $29,200 |
| 21 | Dream Lith | 10 | Robertino Diodoro | $261,455 |
| 22 | Manorelli | 10 | Luis Mendez | $45,000 |
| x | Minwah | 10 | Doug Watson | $45,000 |
| x | I Feel the Need | 10 | Burl McBride | $30,000 |
| x | Amani's Image | 10 | Fausto Gutierrez | $12,375 |
| 23 | Radio Days | 9 | Shug McGaughey | $19,600 |
| 24 | Desert Dawn | 8 | Philip D'Amato | $88,000 |
| 25 | Fannie and Freddie | 8 | Al Stall Jr. | $20,000 |
| 26 | Sweet Dani Girl | 5 | Carlo Vaccarezza | $114,500 |
| x | Tyler's Dream | 5 | Greg Green | $38,000 |
| 27 | Free Like a Girl | 5 | Carl Deville | $15,000 |
| x | Remas | 5 | Salem Bin Ghadayer | $7,500 |
| 28 | Marissa's Lady | 4 | William Morey | $266,756 |
| 29 | Cairo Memories | 4 | Robert Hess Jr. | $190,000 |
| 30 | Optionality | 4 | Steve Asmussen | $136,000 |
| 31 | Morning Matcha | 4 | Robert Reid Jr. | $80,000 |
| 32 | Distinctlypossible | 4 | Chad Brown | $80,000 |
| 33 | Queen of Thorns | 4 | Peter Eurton | $40,000 |
| 34 | Sandstone | 2 | Ken McPeek | $166,525 |
| 35 | Sequist | 2 | Dallas Stewart | $118,000 |
| x | Last Leaf | 2 | Ronald Spatz | $112,065 |
| 36 | A Mo Reay | 2 | Todd Pletcher | $48,000 |
| 37 | Miss Mattie B | 2 | Robert Hess Jr. | $30,000 |
| 38 | Miss Everything | 2 | Keith Desormeaux | $24,000 |
| 39 | Como Square | 2 | Brad Cox | $20,000 |
| 40 | Bernabreezy | 2 | Matt Shirer | $15,000 |
| 41 | Reigning Chick | 2 | Orlando Noda | $12,000 |
| x | Blamethechampagne | 2 | Ian Wilkes | $10,000 |
| 42 | Diamond Wow | 1 | Patrick Biancone | $91,400 |
| x | Hypersport | 1 | Ingrid Mason | $55,000 |
| 43 | Nostalgic | 1 | Bill Mott | $16,000 |
| x | Gracelund Gray | 1 | Howard Zucker | $15,420 |
| x | Big Switch | 1 | John Sadler | $12,000 |
| x | Ha' Penny | 1 | Joe Orseno | $7,500 |
| 44 | Bhoma | 1 | Ken McPeek | $6,600 |
| x | Rosebug | 1 | Bill Mott | $6,000 |
| x - Not nominated | ||||
| *Non-restricted stakes |