Conceit continues love affair with dirt in Audubon Oaks

Conceit’s connections have generally treated her like a filly for turf and synthetics. Dirt looks like her forte. Winless in two turf starts, defeated in her one synthetic race, Conceit made it 3 for 3 on dirt while making her stakes debut in the $200,000 Audubon Oaks on Sunday at Ellis Park.

She ran fast, too, getting seven furlongs on a fast track in 1:21.80 over a surface that wasn’t producing especially quick times. Conceit and A Fine Chardonnay at the three-sixteenths pole pounced together on pacesetting favorite Twirling Aces, who could not match stride with the fillies outside her. A Fine Chardonnay, racing three wide, took a lead to the furlong grounds, but Conceit, racing between horses under Florent Geroux, did the best late work to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

A Fine Chardonnay, exiting a solid third in the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Saratoga, finished 2 3/4 lengths in front of Twirling Aces, who lost for the first time in three starts while going off an overbet 13-10 favorite. Percy’s Bar and Carmel Coast both were scratched after starting Saturday at Saratoga. Betty’s Pearl, the 3-1 third choice, finished a flat fourth.

Conceit, a Juddmonte homebred trained by Brad Cox, debuted last summer at Kentucky Downs and finished ninth, and was entered again for turf at Horseshoe Indianapolis. With her race rained off, Conceit stayed in and won in a romp, but went back to grass, finishing a solid second in a Churchill Downs allowance. The filly capped her first form cycle with a tepid third trying Turfway Tapeta in January, was entered again for turf in her June 6 Churchill comeback, and again got rained off. Conceit won by more than 10 lengths with a 90 Beyer and validated that showing Sunday.

Conceit ($6.94) is by Not This Time, an excellent multi-surface sire but with a greater influence on turf than dirt, and out of the Tapit mare Pachinko, who was all turf during her racing career. Pachinko produced Final Gambit, a full brother to Conceit, who won the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on synthetic but ran even better on dirt finishing fourth in the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

Perhaps Conceit really does has a high-level turf race in her. Probably, we won’t find that out anytime soon: For now, Conceit looks like a dirt horse.

Groupie Doll Stakes

One mile around a turn-and-a-half might not seem that different from 1 1/16 miles around two turns, but it makes all the difference for the filly Five a Side. Winless beyond one mile, Five a Side now has four wins at distances of one mile or less after landing the Groupie Doll Stakes on Sunday.

Five a Side and 7-10 favorite Cash Call match-raced around the turn and into the homestretch, but Cash Call, setting the pace along the rail, had no answer for Five a Side’s stretch run. Five a Side took a 2 1/2-length lead to the stretch call and won by 6 1/4, with Cash Call second by 2 3/4 lengths over Union Mist.

Second choice Five a Side paid $6.96, running her mile on a fast track in 1:35.72.

John Servis trains 4-year-old Five a Side for Main Line Racing Stable and Avalon Racing Stables. Bred in Kentucky by Porta Pia Stable, Five a Side is by Spun to Run out of Kylbrylie, by Pulpit. Two-turn routes? A little too much. A 1 1/2-turn mile? Perfect.

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