Kentucky Oaks: Stellar Wind slight favorite in large field
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The field for one of the most wide-open renewals of the Kentucky Oaks in recent memory has been set, with California invader Stellar Wind being pegged as a slight program favorite in an oversubscribed lineup.
Churchill Downs linemaker Mike Battaglia has a core of five favorites bunched closely together on the morning line, with Stellar Wind the 7-2 choice over Condo Commando (4-1), I’m a Chatterbox (4-1), Lovely Maria (5-1), and Birdatthewire (6-1) in the 1 1/8-mile filly classic Friday.
“I’ve been coming to the Oaks pretty much all my life,” said Dale Romans, a Louisville native who trains Birdatthewire. “The fans sure ought to get their money’s worth with this one.”
From the rail and with jockeys, this is the field for the 141st running of the Grade 1, $1 million Oaks: Forever Unbridled, Mike Smith; Shook Up, Robby Albarado; Include Betty, Rosemary Homeister Jr.; Eskenformoney, Javier Castellano; Condo Commando, Joel Rosario; Angela Renee, John Velazquez; Lovely Maria, Kerwin Clark; I’m a Chatterbox, Florent Geroux; Money’soncharlotte, Paco Lopez; Oceanwave, Rafael Bejarano; Sarah Sis, Gary Stevens; Stellar Wind, Victor Espinoza; Birdatthewire, Irad Ortiz Jr.; and Puca, Junior Alvarado.
Peace and War, with Julien Leparoux, is the lone also-eligible and would start from the far outside post in case of any early scratches.
Stellar Wind, a Virginia-bred formerly based in Maryland, has been sensational since she was bought privately by Hronis Racing and turned over to John Sadler in Southern California, winning the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in powerful fashion. The chestnut daughter of Curlin had her first tour of the Churchill surface Monday after being flown here following a final tune-up Friday at Santa Anita.
In a race in which the New York-based standout Condo Commando looks like the front-runner, strategy right behind her will be critical – although Larry Jones, trainer of I’m a Chatterbox and Lovely Maria, said he can’t concern himself with that.
“Once I leg the riders up, my work is done,” said Jones, already a two-time Oaks winner with Proud Spell (2008) and Believe You Can (2012). “These jocks know the horses, and they care as much as we do. I don’t give any specific instructions. I just tell ’em to go out there and get it done.”
Birdatthewire overcame trouble to win her last start, the March 28 Gulfstream Oaks, and has trained forwardly at Churchill since arriving here from Florida.
“We really like the way she’s coming up to this,” Romans said. Regarding the outer post, he added: “It shouldn’t be a big deal if she runs her race.”
This was the first time since the points-eligibility system was implemented in 2013 that the Oaks filled to capacity. Both Forever Unbridled and Money’soncharlotte made it into the main gate from the “bubble” when trainer Bob Baffert announced Monday he would not enter his two eligible fillies, Maybellene and Luminance.
The Oaks will be the 11th of 12 Friday races on a program that also will include five other stakes. First post is 10:30 a.m. Eastern, with the Oaks set for 5:49. Extensive coverage of Oaks Day on NBCSN starts at 12:30.
The weather forecast for Friday is a beauty: mostly sunny skies and a high of 72. Attendance is expected to surpass 100,000.