Duopoly's strategy pays off in American Oaks surprise

ARCADIA, Calif. - Duopoly was allowed to set her own pace in Saturday’s Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita, a strategy that led to a minor upset and the first graded stakes win for the lightly raced East Coast shipper.

Ridden by Flavien Prat, Duopoly ($14) took the lead shortly after the start and pulled clear in the stretch to win by two lengths over 14-1 Going to Vegas.
The win came as a pleasant surprise to Prat, who had hoped for an uncontested lead.

“It’s the type of thing you imagine before the race, but you don’t think will turn out that way,” Prat said. “I thought maybe someone would make a run, but it didn’t happen.

“She responded really well.”

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The $302,500 American Oaks was run for 3-year-old fillies. Duopoly finished 1 1/4 miles on turf in 2:01.61 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 95.

Going to Vegas, who stalked the pace in third, outfinished 8-5 favorite Sharing, who was second to the final furlong. Sharing, the winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf here in November 2019, seemed well placed throughout, but failed to threaten the leader in the final furlong, losing by 2 3/4 lengths.

Red Lark, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in August, closed from ninth to finish fourth, followed by Capital Structure, Luck Money, Miss Addie Pray, Neige Blanche, California Kook, and Guitty.

The American Oaks was the Grade 1 debut for Going to Vegas, who was second in two Grade 3 races in the fall – the Autumn Miss Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf here in October and the Red Carpet Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 26.

Duopoly, trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables, won for the fourth time in her sixth start. By Animal Kingdom, Duopoly has earned $308,036. The American Oaks was Duopoly’s third consecutive stakes appearance, preceded by a fifth as the 3-1 favorite in the Grade 3 Valley View Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 16 and a win in the minor Winter Memories Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Aqueduct on Nov. 15.

Duopoly’s career began with a seventh-place finish in a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs in May.

The American Oaks was Prat’s first win for Brown, the winner of the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding trainer from 2016 and 2019. Prat had three mounts for Brown prior to the American Oaks.