Clairiere likely for Ogden Phipps off Apple Blossom score
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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Clairiere will likely run next at Belmont Park following her dramatic win over Secret Oath in the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap last Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Trainer Steve Asmussen said after the race that the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps – which Clairiere won last year – was a logical goal. He reiterated that again Tuesday. The Phipps will be run on June 10. Clairiere has shipped from Oaklawn to Kentucky.
“She’s at Churchill Downs,” Asmussen said Tuesday. “She made the trip really nicely and we’ll most likely go in the Ogden Phipps for her next start.”
Asmussen said plans were made after discussions with Clairiere’s breeder and owner, Stonestreet Stables.
Clairiere won last year’s Phipps off a runner-up finish in the 2022 Apple Blossom. In this year’s renewal of Oaklawn’s top race for fillies and mares, she closed with determination to catch favorite Secret Oath by a neck. Clairiere earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102.
“That was such an unbelievable race and victory,” Asmussen said Tuesday. “It was extremely memorable.”
Clairiere pushed her earnings to $2.8 million after the win in the Apple Blossom, which came under regular rider Joel Rosario. Asmussen lauded Stonestreet for bringing the mare back to race another season this year at the age of 5. Rosario said Clairiere long has been a fighter and he likes what he sees from 5-year-old version of Clairiere.
“She's getting older and more mature and stronger,” said Rosario.
Clairiere is a daughter of Curlin and the $2 million earner Cavorting.
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