Affirmative Lady streaking into Kentucky Oaks

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Affirmative Lady came to South Florida this winter winless in four starts. She’ll head to Kentucky in a few weeks on a two-race winning streak and among the contenders for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Affirmative Lady earned her spot in the Kentucky Oaks by virtue of her two-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. It was her second straight win going 1 1/16 miles around two turns and trainer Graham Motion believes the 1 1/8 miles of the Kentucky Oaks will only be in Affirmative Lady’s favor. That distance is why he ran Affirmative Lady as a maiden in last December’s Grade 2 Demoiselle at 1 1/8 miles in which she was beaten a neck by Julia Shining.

“Maybe it’s crazy to run in graded stakes just because of the distance, but at the time I thought it was feasible,” said Motion, who also ran Affirmative Lady in the Busher at Aqueduct on Jan. 14, when she finished third. “They weren’t big fields and I thought the distance is what she really wants to do.”

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Motion equipped Affirmative Lady with blinkers for a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on Feb. 26 at Gulfstream that she won by 2 1/4 lengths. The blinkers helped Affirmative Lady get into the race earlier than in her previous starts. Affirmative Lady was an up-close fourth in the Gulfstream Oaks before Luis Saez got her off the rail, into the clear and she powered home to victory.

“She grinds it out, she doesn’t quit,” Motion said. “I got the impression that Luis was kind of impressed with her the way she drew off once he got her going.”

Saez does ride Julia Shining - who beat Affirmative Lady by a neck in the Demoiselle - in Saturday’s Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland. If Saez stays with Julia Shining for the Kentucky Oaks, Motion could turn back to other jockeys who have ridden Affirmative Lady, including Junior Alvarado or John Velazquez.

Affirmative Lady earned an 81 Beyer Speed Figure for the Gulfstream Oaks. While a career-best for her, it is a little lower than numbers earned by Wet Paint (89) in Saturday’s Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn, Pretty Mischievous (87) in the Rachel Alexandra, and Southlawn (86) in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds.

“It seems like her numbers, maybe they’re a little light, but that would be the only thing that would give me any trepidation,” Motion said. “I’ve felt this was something she could do as long as she kept going.”

Motion said Affirmative Lady would likely stay in South Florida for a couple of weeks before shipping to Keeneland, where Motion will have a string, around April 17. Horses running in the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby must be stabled at Churchill Downs by 11 a.m. May 1, according to the conditions of the races.

Sacred Wish gave her connections something to think about by rallying from last to be second in the Gulfstream Oaks. She was stretching out from a pair of six-furlong races at Oaklawn and was making her first start for trainer George Weaver following a private purchase. Sacred Wish did get caught wide on both turns, but outfinished Flakes and Dorth Vader.

Sacred Wish has 40 qualifying points, which puts her 14th on the points list with a few points races left to run. The Kentucky Oaks is limited to 14 starters. Sacred Wish is not currently nominated to the Oaks, but could be for a fee of $1,500 by April 15.

“It’s a definite possibility,” Weaver said. “Our thinking is yes, she’s in the mix, we’re going to see how she does.”

Dorth Vader, the upset winner of the Davona Dale, has enough points to get into the Oaks field. Despite her fourth-place finish Saturday, Dorth Vader remains on schedule for the Kentucky Oaks, per trainer Michael Yates.

“I think we’re probably going to move forward with her,” Yates said. “She lost a tremendous amount of ground on the first turn [Saturday].”

Yates said Dorth Vader came out of the race in good order.

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