Kathleen O. stays perfect in dominant Gulfstream Park Oaks performance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There’s only one word to describe Kathleen O. at the moment – Perfect!

Kathleen O. kept her record unblemished while punching her ticket to Churchill Downs for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 6 when rallying to a popular 2 3/4-length victory over Goddess of Fire in what amounted to a virtual match race in Saturday’s $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks. It was another 17 1/4 lengths further back to third-place finisher Running Legacy and an additional 3 1/2 lengths back to fourth-place Amani’s Image at the end of the Grade 2 fixture for 3-year-old fillies.

The top four finishers earned Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

Kathleen O. entered the 1 1/16-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks with three victories in as many starts on her resume, her previous two wins coming locally going a mile in the Cash Run and Grade 3 Davona Dale. She launched her career with a last-to-first triumph going seven furlongs over a muddy strip on Nov. 12 at Aqueduct.

With regular rider Javier Castellano aboard, Kathleen O. dropped back to last, as expected, while drifting a bit wide into the clubhouse turn. She continued to race out near the middle of the track in the run down the backstretch, about six lengths off the pacesetting Cancel This, before commencing her rally when roused approaching the half-mile pole. Kathleen O. was sent after Goddess of Fire turning for home, overtook the leader near the furlong marker, and readily pulled away in the latter stages.

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Goddess of Fire, runner-up in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds six weeks earlier, readily gained command from Cancel This midway on the second turn and briefly fended off the favorite into the stretch before ultimately proving no match while much the best of the others. Running Legacy saved ground into the stretch and became graded stakes-placed while never a threat to the top pair.

Kathleen O., a daughter of Upstart, is owned by Patrick Kearney’s Winngate Stables LLC. She completed the distance over a fast track in 1:43.75 and paid $3 and was given a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I told Javier in the paddock to just be careful of the pace because they’ll try to back it down on him,” trainer Shug McGaughey said in the winner’s circle after the race. “I figured we’d be chasing Todd’s filly [Goddess of Fire], and that’s the way it turned out. When she broke and kind of drifted out on the first turn, it sort of concerned me more than anything. But once he got her into the race and she flattened out down the backstretch, I felt pretty confident. I think he felt he was riding the best horse, which is why he just kept her out there the whole way.”

If all goes according to plan, Kathleen O. will be the first Kentucky Oaks starter for the Hall of Fame trainer since Yell finished third in 2003 and potentially his first Oaks winner since Dispute in 1993.

“Things couldn’t have gone smoother, and it’s been a lot of fun up to this point, but there are so many good 3-year-old filly races [around the country] and the water is going to get a lot deeper,” McGaughey acknowledged.

“My owner has gotten a big thrill out of this. He’s 84 years old, and imagine getting a filly like this in your first go around.”