Finger Lakes: Miss Rubycubes scores front-running victory in New York Oaks

Miss Rubycubes provided trainer Eileen Muller with the first stakes victory of her 26-year career by leading wire to wire in Saturday’s $75,000 New York Oaks at Finger Lakes.

Until two weeks ago, Miss Rubycubes ($5.40) had been strictly a sprinter. But after she romped by 8 1/4 lengths and improved her Beyer Speed Figure 25 points in her first try around two turns, Muller and owner David Brown decided to nominate the homebred daughter of Read the Footnotes to the 1 1/16-mile Oaks for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Pedro Rodriguez, who is now 4 for 4 riding Miss Rubycubes, hustled his mount out of the gate from the rail and she clicked off fractions of 23.60 seconds, 47.61, and 1:13.57 while comfortably in front by between one and 1 1/2 lengths. She increased her advantage to 2 1/2 lengths at the eighth pole was not seriously challenged in deep stretch. She finished 1 1/2 lengths in front while completing the distance in 1:48.51.

Message of Love, still eligible for a nonwinners-of-two lifetime condition, nosed out City Gone Wild for second. Two Susans, making her first start since winning her career debut sprinting at Belmont Park in mid-June, faded badly as the 3-2 favorite and finished fifth, ahead of only one filly.

Miss Rubycubes is now 6 for 8 this season with earnings of $85,965. That total is only slightly lower than Muller’s best single season since she began training in 1987 – the $93,756 her horses earned by winning 7 of 44 starts in 2012.