HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mike Pegram and the “car boys” arguably have the early favorite for the Kentucky Oaks after Explora won the Grade 3, $750,000 Honeybee last week at Oaklawn Park. She went over $1 million in earnings with the victory, and now leads all fillies in points for the Kentucky Oaks with 95. “I was really happy for Mike Pegram, and Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, my car boys,” Baffert said, referencing car dealership owners Watson and Weitman. “They were all really excited. They really appreciate those great wins like that. So, that was great. They have fun and they appreciate it.” Explora, 4 for 7, is a daughter of Blame who is now a three-time stakes winner. Explora won last year’s Grade 2 Oak Leaf at Santa Anita to establish herself as the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, a race in which she finished second by three-quarters of a length. She then won her 3-year-old debut in the Santa Ynez at Santa Anita and came into the Honeybee off a runner-up finish in the Las Virgenes, also at Santa Anita. “It was nice for her to redeem herself,” Baffert said. “That’s a nice filly. She was doing great. She’s just had some bad luck and a lot of it was post position. She finally drew a great post. But she’s been comprised with her post, used early, and the Breeders’ Cup was such a letdown because I really thought she would win that. But her other races were good, and she’s getting better. :: Live racing action at Oaklawn Park! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “And for a filly that’s run a lot, she’s holding her weight. She looks great. She’s a big, strong horse.” Baffert said plans for Explora are still to be determined. She is based in Southern California. “We could go back to the Fantasy,” he said. “She’ll be nominated. We’d like to get to the Kentucky Oaks, figure out the way. I think the Fantasy would be hard to pass on. I don’t know. It depends on how she’s doing. Like I said, I just nominate and let the horses tell me. When they’re ready to roll, we run.” The Grade 2, $1 million Fantasy will be run on March 27 at Oaklawn. Explora is part of a bumper crop of 3-year-old fillies for Baffert. Bottle of Rouge, who races for his wife, Jill Baffert, is a Grade 1 winner coming off a victory in the Sunland Park Oaks. Baffert has said she could run next in the Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs. “She’s improving,” he said. Another filly of note for the barn is French Blue, who makes her stakes debut on Sunday for owner Three Chimneys Farm in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel at Santa Anita. “She’s really nice,” Baffert said of the daughter of Gun Runner. “I’ve been taking my time with her. She looks like she could be an Oaks filly too. I’ve really got nice fillies this year.” French Blue won her debut on Jan. 8 at Santa Anita. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.