Rutherienne keeps rolling in Del Mar Oaks

DEL MAR, Calif. - Rutherienne's outstanding 2007 turf campaign went nationwide on Saturday when she scored her fifth consecutive stakes win in the $400,000 Del Mar Oaks. The Grade 1 Oaks was Rutherienne's first start outside of Kentucky or the East Coast.

Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Rutherienne ($9.20) rallied wide on the turn to win the Oaks by two lengths over Valbenny, the 2-1 favorite. Rutherienne finished 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.79.

Super Freaky finished third in the field of 10 3-year-old fillies.

Rutherienne was at the back of the field until the end of the backstretch when Nakatani began moving past rivals. Nakatani guided Rutherienne around most of the field with a five-wide move passing the quarter pole and quickly kicked clear in the final furlong.

Owned by Virginia Kraft-Payson and trained by Christophe Clement, Rutherienne has won 7 of 8 starts and $541,695. Her winning streak began with a win in the minor Sugar Plum Time Sstakes at Belmont Park in May and includes three Grade 3 stakes - the Sands Point at Belmont, the Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park, and Lake George at Saratoga.

Rutherienne finished second in the Boiling Springs but was promoted to first when Red Birkin was disqualified for causing interference.