Blinkers adjustment may have aided Yuugiri in Fantasy Stakes
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Yuugiri is scheduled to ship to Keeneland on Monday as her connections determine whether she will advance to the Kentucky Oaks following her win over Beguine in the Grade 3, $600,000 Fantasy on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Yuugiri picked up 100 points for the Kentucky Oaks, which will be run May 6 at Churchill Downs. She was a half-length winner of the Fantasy and for the effort earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 86.
“The filly came back good, cleaned the feed tub and looked sound on the shank,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said Sunday. “More than likely we’ll head over to Keeneland tomorrow and regroup a little bit.
“We have to have a conversation with the ownership. We don’t have to make a decision today. Of course, she deserves to have a shot and more than likely we’re going to head that way.”
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Yuugiri, who has shown herself to be of quality for her breeders and owners Tsunebumi and Sekie Yoshihara, won her first stakes in the Fantasy. She set the pace in the 1 1/16-mile race and battled late when engaged by Beguine. A smart equipment adjustment by Brisset and a smart ride by Florent Geroux helped contribute to the victory before Saturday’s estimated crowd of 60,000.
“I thought there would be a lot of speed in the race and we may be stalking more than leading, but she broke really quick and then Florent took a shot to go ahead and let her run to the lead and obviously it paid off,” Brisset said.
“He really rode a really smart race. I told him she’s a filly where she may not have a long run – when I say a long run she doesn’t have a huge turn of foot when you ask her to run - but she will sustain a run. You could see he was waiting, waiting to see if somebody was coming to challenge and he waited as long as he could and I think that’s where he won the race, to be honest.”
Another piece of the puzzle, which served Yuugiri well battling Beguine, was an adjustment to the size of the cups on the blinkers the winner wore Saturday.
“For yesterday’s race we went from a three-quarter cheater to a regular pair of cheaters,” Brisset said. “So, she had a little less blinkers. I think everything kind of paid off.”
Beguine emerged from the Fantasy in good order and is being pointed to the Kentucky Oaks, trainer Dan Peitz said Sunday. She earned 40 points for her runner-up finish in the Fantasy, which was her first race against winners following a maiden victory going 1 1/16 miles on March 5 at Oaklawn.
Peitz said before he even received Beguine, her 95-year-old breeder and owner Charles Matses expressed the hope she might develop into a candidate for the Kentucky Oaks. Matses has long been involved in racing.
“I’ve liked her all along,” Peitz said of the daughter of Gun Runner.
“I knew that to get to the Oaks we were going to have to run in the Fantasy. And she stepped up. We’re kind of excited.”
Peitz said Beguine will remain at Oaklawn for the immediate future and will ship to Churchill Downs in time to get a work or two in over the surface ahead of the Kentucky Oaks.
This year, the Fantasy was run five weeks out from the Kentucky Oaks. In the past, the window had been shorter.
Bubble Rock finished third in the Fantasy in her first start on dirt, but most likely will not advance to the Kentucky Oaks, trainer Brad Cox said Sunday.
Bubble Rock earned 20 points under Ricardo Santana Jr., one start after earning points for her Cincinnati Trophy win on the synthetic track at Turfway. Last year, Bubble Rock won the Grade 3 Matron on turf at Belmont Park.
“Big run,” Cox said of the Fantasy. “I was very pleased with her. You know, there were some question marks if she liked the dirt. I don’t think she hated it. The jock did a good job. He kind of thought she maybe struggled a little bit, like being able to accelerate on it - said he felt it broke away from her a little bit. But overall, it was a very solid effort.”
Cox said following the race, owner John Ed Anthony was inclined to pass on the Kentucky Oaks.
“She’ll probably return to turf,” said Cox, with an option for the Edgewood at Churchill.
I Feel the Need, who picked up 10 points for fourth in the Fantasy, also could target a turf campaign, trainer Burl McBride said Sunday. He said no plans are set yet for the filly, who at the moment will remain in Arkansas.
“We’ll kind of let her tell me,” he said.
I Feel the Need landed in the Fantasy in part because Secret Oath, who had won two prior preps for the Kentucky Oaks, was instead entered in the Arkansas Derby by trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
“I was looking at another allowance that didn’t go,” McBride said, “and when Lukas decided to go in the Derby, I said, ‘You know, let’s take a shot at it.’ You don’t get a shot at a race like this real often.”
I Feel the Need is a daughter of Keen Ice.
Plans for Dream Lith, the Grade 2 Golden Rod winner who finished fifth as the favorite in the Fantasy, are pending. She experienced symptoms of heat stroke following the race, trainer Robertino Diodoro said Sunday.
◗ Lone Rock, who captured the Temperence Hill on Sunday, will be considered for the $160,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon on May 3 at Churchill Downs, trainer Robertino Diodoro said.
◗ Champion sprinter Jackie’s Warrior worked five furlongs in a bullet 59.40 seconds on Sunday at Oaklawn.
- additional reporting by Jay Privman