Mokat gets green light for Kentucky Oaks

CYPRESS, Calif. – The lure of a seven-figure, Grade 1 race and the absence of the undefeated champion Songbird have put Mokat on course for the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.

Earlier this month, Mokat was made eligible for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies with a late nomination payment of $1,500. The fee was paid days after Mokat finished second to Songbird in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 9. Last weekend, Songbird was declared from the Kentucky Oaks because of illness.

Her absence gives the race a more open feel and has led JK Racing Stable and trainer Richard Baltas to plan a trip to Kentucky. Mokat will be sent to Churchill Downs next week to complete preparation.

“You don’t get many chances like this,” Baltas said. “It’s a Grade 1, and she ran second in a Grade 1.”

By Uncle Mo, Mokat was third to Songbird in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita on March 5 and second in the Santa Anita Oaks, beaten 3 3/4 lengths.

“She came out of the race fine,” Baltas said. “It took her a little time to recover, but she’s back to normal now. I thought she ran a good race last time.”

Flavien Prat, who has been aboard for Mokat’s last two starts, will have the mount in the Kentucky Oaks. Baltas said a placing would be a highly favorable result in such a prestigious race.

“You’d like to win every race you run in, but the reality is that’s not the way it goes,” he said. “I’ll go in and try to win, but I’ll be realistic. She’s a well-bred filly.”

Baltas has stakes goals for two other 3-year-olds in his stable – the colt Diplodocus and the filly Forever Darling.

Diplodocus, who finished fifth in the Santa Anita Derby on April 9, will be pointed for the series of turf stakes for 3-year-olds at Del Mar this summer. The first such race is the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes on July 15.

Forever Darling, the winner of the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes and fourth in the Santa Anita Oaks, will race in sprints. She was purchased privately earlier this year by Katsumi Yoshida of Japan as a long-term broodmare prospect.