Gamine made even-money favorite vs. 8 in 146th Kentucky Oaks
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A field of nine 3-year-old fillies has been entered for Friday's 146th running of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks. However, much of the attention in recent weeks has been around just two of those -- the dazzling Gamine and the rock-solid Swiss Skydiver, who could find themselves eyeing each other for the first time heading into the first turn of Friday's filly classic.
Gamine was installed as the even-money favorite on Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia's morning line when posts were drawn and odds were established on Monday morning. The filly, looking to give Bob Baffert his fourth Oaks win, drew post 5 under John Velazquez, and is expected to flaunt her speed early. Swiss Skydiver, the 8-5 second choice, landed the rail under Tyler Gaffalione. Ken McPeek left open the possibility that his filly, who has won races this year both running on the lead and stalking slightly off, could be with Gamine in the early going.
"I'd rather be in the 1 than the 9," McPeek said. "It's out of my hands. Good thing I'd never let me ride her. Tyler's a great jock, and we'll probably let him do his thing. From the inside, we'll probably let her run to the first turn.
"It takes one horse getting off a little awkward that changes everything," McPeek added, "so we'll leave that up to Tyler."
Gamine, who was expected to arrive at Churchill later Monday from her California base, is coming off back-to-back runaway wins in Grade 1 races around one turn in New York. She won the Acorn Stakes by 18 3/4 lengths in June, earning a 110 Beyer Speed Figure Most recently, she won the Aug. 8 Test Stakes at Saratoga by seven lengths. The only blemish on Gamine's record is in her only start to date around two turns. The filly crossed the line first, a neck in front of Speech, in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race at Oaklawn Park. However, she was later disqualified after a post-race test showed excessive amounts of the legal medication lidocane.
Swiss Skydiver has won four of her last five outings, all in graded stakes around two turns. Her only loss in that span came when second to Art Collector, one of the favorites for Saturday's Kentucky Derby, in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes. She most recently won the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes going 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga on Aug. 15, earning a career-best Beyer of 102.
Speech, winner of the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes in July at Keeneland, was installed as the third choice on the morning line at 5-1. The other six fillies in the field are all 15-1 or higher.
The Oaks is the 12th race on Friday's 13-race card, which also includes the Grade 1 La Troienne, Grade 2 Alysheba, Grade 2 Eight Belles, Grade 2 Edgewood, and Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint. First post for the card is 11 a.m. Eastern, with the Oaks set for 5:45 p.m. The filly classic will be aired in a broadcast on NBCSN that begins at 3 p.m.
From the rail out, the field for the Kentucky Oaks, with riders and Churchill’s morning-line odds is:
1. Swiss Skydiver, T. Gaffalione, 8-5
2. Tempers Rising, J. Leparoux, 50-1
3. Donna Veloce, R. Santana Jr., 15-1
4. Speech, J. Castellano, 5-1
5. Gamine, J. Velazquez, 1-1
6. Bayerness, R. Bejarano, 50-1
7. Shedaresthedevil, F. Geroux, 20-1
8. Hopeful Growth, M. Franco, 30-1
9. Dream Marie, J. Talamo, 50-1