Fourth time at Grade 1 level the charm for Decked Out
ARCADIA, Calif. - With hours to spare, Decked Out became a Grade 1 stakes winner as a 3-year-old in Saturday’s $302,415 American Oaks at Santa Anita. The objective took longer than expected.
The American Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf, was Decked Out’s fourth consecutive start at the highest level. She was close in one of those races, second by a head in the Del Mar Oaks in August, and well-beaten in the other two starts in Grade 1 races – a ninth in the Belmont Oaks in July and 12th in the Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1.
“The Grade 1 puts her in a different category,” trainer Keith Desormeaux said. “You can’t get enough Grade 1’s. It’s gratifying to have these kinds and get these goals accomplished.”
Decked Out ($11) won the American Oaks by a nose over Sassy Little Lita, a pacesetter who led for every stride but the last. The race was run on a “good” turf course because of weekend rain.
“I didn’t think she’d get there,” Desormeaux said. “Decked Out was laboring. She’s got a heart of gold.”
The race was scheduled for 1 1/4 miles on turf, but was reduced to 1 1/8 miles early Saturday afternoon to prevent the field from starting on the hillside turf course and racing briefly over the sloppy main track before joining the main turf oval.
Decked Out, by Street Boss, has won 3 of 16 starts and earned $480,859. Owned by Big Chief Racing, Gene Voss, and Head of Plains Partners, Decked Out won the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes here last April under similar soggy conditions.
Decked Out raced in traffic in the Rodeo Drive, and was beaten 5 3/4 lengths by Avenge. Decked Out did not race again until the American Oaks. Desormeaux said the filly was deliberately held out of the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes against older fillies and mares at Del Mar on Dec. 4.
“A big difference was not running at Del Mar,” he said on Saturday. “We skipped that to have her fresh.”
For 2017, Desormeaux said there are no immediate race plans for Decked Out.
The competition will get tougher with Decked Out racing against older fillies and mares. Desormeaux has repeatedly said that Decked Out is suited to longer races. There will be ample opportunities to race at 1 1/8 miles on turf or farther. Still, her trainer knows the filly must improve to be a factor as a 4-year-old.
“She needs to move up a little more,” he said.