Running Away lives up to her name to win Monmouth Oaks

Ever since being switched to the dirt, Running Away has been nearly perfect in five starts now with the only blemish two races back in the Ashland (G1). Now the Wesley Ward trainee is a graded-stakes winner as well.

With jockey Víctor Espinoza securing a tracking trip just off the flanks of front-running Paris Lily for the opening mile, Running Away made her move midway through the final turn and drew off for a 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks at Monmouth Park.

The winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:46.26 on the fast main track.

Click here for Monmouth Park entries and results.

“He rode a very patient race sitting off that early pacesetter with Paco López,” said Ward, whose filly usually is the one setting the fractions. “I didn’t know how it was going to end up. On paper and also training her, when she is in front, she gets kind of brave. This time she was in a beautiful stalking position, and when he called on her, she responded.”

Sent off at 9-2 in the field of seven 3-year-old fillies, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Gun Runner won for the fourth time in seven starts and earned her third stakes victory.

Fondly, the 6-5 favorite, had to settle for second after a slow start. She was 2 1/2 lengths better than third-place Paris Lily.

“As far as all of the speed on paper, that’s always a concern,” Espinoza said. “Before the race there’s always a concern with that. I figured if I was going to go, I might have to try something crazy. I was able to ease her back a little bit. Not too much, just a little bit, and I was hoping to stick there and just clear on the first turn.”

Running Away stalked Paris Lily through fractions of 23.36, 47.18, 1:12.44 and 1:39.33 before taking command coming out of the turn.

After starting her career with two turf races, Running Away has been strictly on dirt since, having won the Horseshoe Indianapolis Handicap by 4 1/2 lengths over a sloppy track May 14 in her last start. That was achieved in her preferred front-running style. She showed a different dimension Saturday.

“Watching the race, as a jockey I might have ridden it differently, and I might not have had the same outcome, because I’d have probably just went,” said Ward, a former rider. “The first few jumps out of the gate, she kind of stumbled, but she picked herself up right away and got right into it.”

Owned by Stud TNT, Running Away’s four wins have come on four different tracks.

“We had Kentucky Oaks (G1) aspirations for her, but it didn’t materialize when we gave her a little time and ran her in the Ashland Stakes,” Ward said, referring to her eighth-place finish at Keeneland on April 7. “With a little bit of a troubled trip and start, she faltered on us in that race. We gave her time again, and she won, and now she has won again today. ... She’s turning into a high-quality filly.”