Onus, Zvarkhova meet in Commonwealth Oaks
Stormy Regatta has won two stakes races in a row, ships in for the powerhouse stable of trainer Christophe Clement, and has popular Mid-Atlantic jockey Trevor McCarthy named to ride. Yet Stormy Regatta figures to be only the third choice Saturday at Laurel in the Grade 3, $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks, with two very promising grass fillies also in the lineup.
Chad Brown has entered Zvarkhova, a sparking first-level Saratoga turf-route optional-claiming winner in her first start since being imported from France. Shug McGaughey counters with Onus, whose last two starts came over the Laurel grass course and produced eye-catching blowout victories.
The Commonwealth Oaks, carded for 1 1/8 miles on turf, goes as race 10 and is the last of six stakes on the Laurel card, the first five being Virginia-bred grass races. The stakes all used to be run at Colonial Downs in Virginia, which ceased operations after 2013, and the races at Laurel are sponsored by the Virginia Equine Alliance.
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A filly by Blame, Onus puts one in mind of Ironicus, the standout middle-distance turf horse who recently suffered an injury that has taken him out of Breeders’ Cup Mile consideration. Like Ironicus, Onus was bred and is owned by Stuart Janney III, and she is a daughter of Silviculture, who is a half-sister to Ironicus. Onus, like Ironicus, is a gray horse, and like Ironicus, who won his first stakes in Maryland, capturing the Dixie on the Preakness undercard, she can run.
It took Onus four starts to win a maiden race, but on July 11, she romped by eight lengths going one mile at Laurel, and Onus’s first-level allowance score going 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 14 looked even better. In it, she tracked a fast pace, took over without being asked in upper stretch, and cruised home by 10 1/2 lengths under her own courage. Onus does take a big step up in class, and in both of her wins, she changed back to her wrong lead at almost the exact same spot before the eighth pole, but she should run well under Forest Boyce on Saturday.
Zvarkhova would have started in the Sands Point at Belmont had she not come up with what Brown termed a “very minor issue” that cost her a scheduled work and made Brown change his plans. Zvarkhova got in a Sept. 20 drill on the Belmont course and will be formidable if she runs back to an impressive win last month at Saratoga, where she beat Gap Year, who came right back to win a first-level turf allowance by 2 3/4 lengths.
“She settled in nicely after coming [to the U.S.],” Brown said. “She’s a very kind horse to train, has a very good turn of foot. I think she has a very successful career ahead of her.”
Stormy Regatta has accomplished more than her main rivals but might not have as much raw ability. She won a maiden race for a $50,000 tag in early April, and her four grass wins have come by less than 1 1/2 lengths combined. Stormy Regatta either is incredibly determined or quite lucky, and she might need a combination of both characteristics to win again Saturday.