Kentucky Oaks trail: Wet Paint wins rainy Martha Washington

As the rain began to pick up, the aptly named Wet Paint came from off the pace to pull the mild upset in the $150,000 Martha Washington and in the process earned herself 20 points towards eligibility in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 5.

Wet Paint, with jockey Flavien Prat in the irons, was the last out of the gate and was allowed to settle, while the previously unbeaten Olivia Twist, pressured by even-money favorite Defining Purpose, set fractions of 23.96 and 48.18 seconds. Turning for home the favorite took a narrow lead, but it was short lived as 27-1 longshot Taxed took over briefly before Wet Paint came flying home late and drew off to win by two lengths. The winning time was 1:44.62 over a good track.

Jockey Flavien Prat said after the race, "Brad was telling me she wasn’t really quick out of there. He said to give her time to get herself on her leads. After that, she was traveling well. I was able to cut the corner. And, when I tipped her out, she really responded well."

Defining Purpose held on for third and was followed by Take Charge Briana, Olivia Twist and Key to Success. The second through fifth-place finishers also received points toward eligibility in the Kentucky Oaks on an 8-6-4-2 basis.

David Cabrera, who rode beaten favorite Defining Purpose, was realistic about the result. "It is what it is. I don’t think she’s horse that likes to feel pressure. She’s a horse that likes to run free like last time (when winning the Year’s End Stakes Dec. 31). We’ll know that for next time."

Wet Paint, a Blame filly trained by Brad Cox, improved her record to two wins from four starts and has now earned $162,500 for owner Godolphin LLC. She returned $8, $4.60 and $2.80 at odds of 3-1.