Pauline's Pearl takes Fantasy, Abrogate wins Purple Martin

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. swept the first two stakes of the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park on Saturday when Pauline’s Pearl won the Grade 3, $600,000 Fantasy to pick up 100 points for the Kentucky Oaks and Abrogate accounted for the $200,000 Purple Martin.

The Racing Festival is a series of eight major stakes. This meet it’s being held over the first three Saturdays in April. Purses for the races total $4.9 million. The series continues next Saturday with the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby

Pauline’s Pearl picked up 100 points for the Kentucky Oaks with her length win in the Fantasy, while runner-up Ava’s Grace earned 40; third-place finisher Coach picked up 20; and fourth-place finisher Take Charge Lorin got 10. The first three finishers in the race also earned berths into the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico.

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Pauline’s Pearl ($3.60) stalked the pace in fourth in the Fantasy, as Ava’s Grace set fractions of 23.11 seconds for the opening quarter, 46.86 for the half-mile and 1:11.84 for six furlongs in the 1 1/16-mile race. The eventual winner advanced three wide on the turn, pushed past the leader coming to the sixteenth pole, and covered the distance on a track rated fast in 1:43.64.

"On to Kentucky," Asmussen said after the win Saturday.

Abrogate ($8) became a stakes winner in the Purple Martin with a half-length win over Joyful Cadence. It was another half-length back in third to 4-5 favorite Windmill.

Abrogate pushed Windmill through an opening quarter in 21.63 seconds and drew even with that one coming to the quarter pole. Into the stretch the race was on, with Abrogate pushing past Windmill then holding off the late surge of Joyful Cadence.

Abrogate covered six furlongs on a fast track in 1:10.54. The win came one start after Abrogate finished third as the favorite in the Dixie Belle, which was her first defeat in three starts. She is a daughter of Outwork who races for Alex and JoAnn Lieblong.

Pauline’s Pearl is a homebred for Stonestreet Stables.

Asmussen said the afternoon came together "perfectly" at Oaklawn.

“Abrogate got a chance to redeem herself and did in a big way, and Pauline’s Pearl, winning the Fantasy, continues to improve,” he said. “She’s a Tapit filly out of Hot Dixie Chick, a filly we won a Grade 1 with for Stonestreet. It’s very sentimental and a wonderful feeling to see her have success.”

Asmussen and Santana, who lead their respective divisions at Oaklawn, won a total of four races on the 12-race program Saturday.

There is no racing Sunday at Oaklawn in observance of Easter. The track runs back on Thursday.