Further Ado and Explora might not have been up to winning the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks, but both proved too good for lesser competition in Sunday stakes racing at Churchill Downs. Further Ado scored the more decisive victory, winning the Grade 3, $489,655 Matt Winn by two lengths over 14-1 shot Our Moneyman. Explora won the ungraded, $225,000 Leslie’s Lady by a lesser margin, 1 1/4 lengths, but beat a more formidable rival – at least in her division – in odds-on favorite On Time Girl. Made 5-1 Derby favorite after his romping April 4 win in the Blue Grass at Keeneland, Further Ado broke somewhat flat-footed on May 2, was eighth in the early going, commenced a steady rally from the half-mile pole and came close to making the lead in upper stretch before taking a sound bump and fading to eighth. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. It was not a bad performance and, on the strength of his superior overall form, Further Ado went off the 3-5 favorite Sunday, Irad Ortiz regaining the mount after taking off in the Derby to ride Renegade, who finished second. Far from the stoutest colt in his class, Further Ado looked much more at home facing eight foes in the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn than 18 in the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Pavlovian, last in the Derby, tore out of the gate Sunday to set the pace, Further Ado racing in closest attendance to a snappy half-mile in 46.69. Pavlovian surrendered before the three-furlong pole, Further Ado inheriting the lead without Ortiz asking and, turning for home, it looked like he’d win by a wide margin, and he did – over everyone save Our Moneyman. A Louisiana-bred making his first open-stakes start, Our Moneyman never looked like he had a chance to catch Further Ado, but neither did he let the winner get away from him, with Further Ado eventually home by two lengths. Taptastic mounted a rally after turning into the homestretch but failed to sustain it, third, but 5 1/2 lengths out of second. Potente, second choice in the Winn and 12th in the Derby, showed no speed Sunday, rallying mildly from last for fifth, more than four lengths behind Taptastic.   Further Ado ($3.88) clocked 1:43.28 over a fast track. Brad Cox trains the colt, a son of Gun Runner and Sky Dreamer, by Sky Mesa, for Spendthrift Farm. Cox said last week the Winn could serve as a steppingstone to the Grade 1, $1 million Haskell on July 18, and reiterated that position after Sunday’s race. As for Explora, she paid a relatively generous $4.06 as the second choice behind 4-5 On Time Girl in the seven-furlong Leslie’s Lady. Trained by Bob Baffert for Pegram & Watson & Weitman, Explora missed her intended Oaks prep with a minor illness and came to the May 1 Oaks unraced in two months. She made the lead breaking from the rail, but had to work to keep it, and finally ran out of steam – but not entirely – in the final Oaks furlong, fourth by 2 1/2 lengths in a 13-runner field. That showing on top of her established form should have made Explora favorite in the Leslie’s Lady, but the betting market sided with the Cox-trained On Time Girl, winner last out of the Grade 2 Eight Belles over the same seven furlongs at Churchill. While Explora cut back from routes to a long sprint, she had plenty of aging sprint form to suggest she’d be at least as good around one turn as two, and she proved that Sunday. Explora set the pace, going her opening half in a feisty 45.02, and On Time Girl attacked in upper stretch. It took some work – On Time Girl, after all, has credentials herself - but Explora not only turned her back, but galloped out far in front. She got her seven furlongs in 1:21.16. Explora is by Blame out of Collections Choice, by Bernardini, and Baffert suggested he’ll aim for more long-sprint racing, notably the Grade 1 Test later this summer at Saratoga. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.