Grade 1 winners Adare Manor, Wet Paint keep Apple Blossom at high level

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Apple Blossom Handicap has developed into an iconic race for fillies and mares, and Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million renewal at Oaklawn Park brings together another worthy group as the nine-horse field of stakes winners boasts a trio of millionaires in Adare Manor, Wet Paint, and Free Like a Girl.

Bellamore, Taxed, and Flying Connection are among those that could join the seven-figure club with a win in the 1 1/16-mile race. The field also includes $800,000 earner Shotgun Hottie, Gulfstream Park shipper Honor D Lady, and local prep winner Misty Veil.

Oaklawn is showcasing the Apple Blossom on a 12-race card that includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap. First post is 12 p.m. Central.

Adare Manor, the highweight at 123 pounds, is a Grade 1 winner who last year put together a streak of five straight victories. She is in from Southern California and will start from post 4 under Juan Hernandez.

“Hopefully she gets her trip and runs well,” said trainer Bob Baffert. “It would be great to win the Apple Blossom. It’s a prestigious race. It would look good on her résumé.”

Baffert likes the bit of added distance Adare Manor will pick up off her last start, when she launched her 5-year-old season with a runner-up finish to Sweet Azteca in the Beholder Mile on March 9. The career-high Beyer of 102 that Adare Manor earned is the best last-race number in the Apple Blossom.

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“The filly that beat her last time, she’s a pretty nice filly,” Baffert said. “And she didn’t get the trip we wanted. But in fairness, she was trying. She was running at the end. She just ran out of real estate.

“She’s a big mare. She’s in top form right now. I think it’s a good spot for her. Like anything else, she’s got to ship well. She’s got to get away from there.”

The other Grade 1 winner in the field is Wet Paint, who, as the second highweight at 122 pounds, is getting her 4-year-old season underway. She is returning to Oaklawn, where she is a perfect 3 for 3 after sweeping last year’s local preps for the Kentucky Oaks.

“Her last probably three, four works have been really good,” trainer Brad Cox said. “She obviously likes Oaklawn, and physically, she looks really well. I think we’ve got to get a setup. We’re hoping there’s going to be some pace to run at. But I think it’s a good spot to get started. I think she matches up well with the group.”

Wet Paint is making her first start since finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in her first race against older rivals. She was freshened after the Distaff, said Cox. The break came on the heels of an outstanding 3-year-old campaign in which she earned $1.1 million.

“She came back to us at the Fair Grounds and she’s been very steady throughout the winter, into the spring,” Cox said. “It’s time to get her started.

“I think we need to get her back going. Hopefully, she moves forward at an older age and if she does, we’re hoping she can be competitive in this division throughout the year.”

Flavien Prat has the mount from post 3.

Trainer Steve Asmussen will attempt to win his fourth Apple Blossom when he saddles Bellamore. She captured the Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic over Free Like a Girl in January at Sam Houston.

“It ended up being her first graded stakes win,” Asmussen said. “That’s over now. We’re looking to add that Grade 1.”

Taxed is a Grade 2 winner moving back to her regular two-turn trip after accounting for a second-level allowance sprint in her 4-year-old debut March 16 at Oaklawn.

“She’s filled out,” said trainer Randy Morse. “She’s bigger, stronger.

“I wish we could have probably had a route race in her as a prep, but she’s doing great. It’s a tough field. She’s going to have her work cut out for her, that’s for sure.”

Misty Veil has been a force in the local preps, most recently running second by a neck in the Grade 2 Azeri. Earlier in the season, she won the Pippin.

“It was a heartbreaking loss last time,” said trainer Mike Maker. “But she shows up every time and continues to hold her form.

“She’s a lovely horse, a nice-sized filly and is very kind to be around and ride. She loves her job.”

Flying Connection won her 4-year-old debut in the Harry Henson Mile on Feb. 18 at Sunland Park.

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“I think she ran a little stronger than I thought she would, because I didn’t have her super tight,” said trainer Todd Fincher. “She went to the front and did all the work, so that was pretty encouraging.

“She’s had enough time in between races and has had a few works at Oaklawn. It’s obviously a step up in competition and we’ll see what she can do. She’s been very honest and hard-trying.”

The stage is set, it seems, for another engaging Apple Blossom.

“We’ve all seen some awfully good mares win it through the years,” said Morse.

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