Oaks prep: Always a Runner beats the odds in the Gazelle

Always a Runner launched a sweeping rally from off the pace, angling six to seven wide into upper stretch and seizing command 40 yards from the finish to win the Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths Saturday at Aqueduct.

Dylan Davis rode the victory for trainer Chad Brown in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks (G1) prep, which awarded 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points to the top five finishers in the field of eight. Hot Gossip was scratched.

The win marked a triumphant return to Aqueduct for Davis, who came back just last month from a November accident at the track that left him with fractured ribs, a collapsed left lung, a broken right collarbone and a hairline fracture in his right arm.

"I have to mention Dylan – he had a very serious injury, and we were able to secure him for this horse," Brown said. "We had a plan to follow the favorite all the way to the lane, and just pick your path inside or out, and he executed it exactly how we drew it up. Very happy for him that he's back in good form."

Pashmina (6-1), ridden by Ramon Vazquez for trainer Rob Atras, established the front four wide into the first turn and set moderate fractions of 23.84 and 48.51 seconds over the fast main track in rainy, 49-degree conditions. Victory Hall (29-1), with Ricardo Santana Jr. aboard, chased three to four wide in close aim of the leader early but faded inside the three-eighths pole and was eased through the finish.

Betting favorite Paradise (6-5), under Manuel Franco, stalked just off the inside and tracked Pashmina through three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.00 and a mile in 1:38.22. She came under a ride from three furlongs out, angled five to six wide for home and weakened to finish third, 10 lengths behind the winner. Paradise had gotten bumped at the start when Always a Runner broke inward.

Always a Runner (9-2) chased along the inside early, settled back to the rail with five furlongs to go and came under encouragement at the three-eighths marker. She rallied to engage Pashmina inside the final furlong, latched on inside the sixteenth pole and edged away in the shadow of the wire.

Pashmina dug in under the challenge but hopped tracks 40 yards from home as the winner collared her. She held on for second, 1 1/4 lengths behind Always a Runner and 8 3/4 lengths clear of Paradise in third.

"She got to run her race, and I wish we would have won, but I'm very proud of her performance," Atras said. "I didn't really anticipate her being on the front, but Ramon was smart and nobody was really wanting to go. She ran a really good race, professional, and I think she got beat by a nice horse."

Davis said he tried to execute the plan to the letter.

"Saved ground both turns, got out in the top of the lane," Davis said. "I wanted to get outside because she hasn't run that much. I think the grandstand made her lose focus turning for home. She had a lot under her, I tried to get the last bit out and she ran great. I think she has a lot of room to improve."

The final time was 1:50.97. Always a Runner paid $11.38, $5.60 and $3.72. Pashmina returned $6.28 and $3.90 to place. Paradise paid $2.70 to show.

Nycon (6-1) finished fourth, a head behind Paradise. Two Bits (9-2) wound up fifth, 10 1/4 lengths back. Slow Kara (15-1), Baffle (39-1) and Victory Hall completed the order of finish.

Brown compared Always a Runner to his undefeated Grade 1 Kentucky Derby hopeful Emerging Market, noting both dealt with bouts of pneumonia that delayed their careers.

"It's ironic – I have a male and a female version, she's like a female spitting image of Emerging Market," Brown said. "Both horses had pneumonia and almost had the same exact thing. ... They were both dead-ready to run, right here in New York and to debut the right way in the fall as two of our best prospects in their divisions. They both missed it, which I was just sick over, because I really felt I had an Oaks and a Derby horse."

Brown said it took a pair of strong works at Payson Park to convince him to enter Always a Runner in the Gazelle on short notice.

"I called both owners and said, 'Look, I'm going to take a shot in this race because she just breezed too, too good.' Last-minute decision to put her on the van and send her up here the other day," Brown said.

Always a Runner earned her 100 Oaks points with a second career start. She graduated at first asking Feb. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs, powering clear to a 6 1/2-length maiden win going a mile and 40 yards. Pashmina now holds 63 total Oaks points, and Atras said she is under consideration for the first Friday in May.

Brown indicated Always a Runner is a likely Oaks candidate as well, though he acknowledged the risk of running a horse with just two career starts.

"Big risk, big reward," Brown said. "I don't want to be careless with these horses, but she's really talented. She's not that big, but she's handy and a very athletic sort. The Oaks, you don't have the 20-horse field. Is there that much risk? I don't know, I'd have to look at the field and look it over and talk to the owners."

A $1.05 million yearling purchase bred in Kentucky by Three Chimneys Farm, Always a Runner is a daughter of Gun Runner out of the Grade 2-placed Malibu Moon mare Always Carina, a half-sister to 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Structor. Both Always Carina and Structor were trained by Brown. Always a Runner is 2: 2-0-0 with $110,000 in earnings.