Sarah Sis has stamina edge in Fantasy Stakes
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – There appears to be little separating the top contenders in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, but one angle Sarah Sis has working for her is that she’s proven at two turns, unlike her Grade 1-placed rivals, Feathered and Achiever’s Legacy, and the promising Oceanwave. The fillies are among 11 in the 1 1/16-mile race, which rewards its first four finishers Kentucky Oaks eligibility points on a sliding scale of 100-40-20-10.
The Fantasy, which has produced such Kentucky Oaks winners as Rachel Alexandra and Blind Luck, opens the annual Racing Festival of the South. During the series, Oaklawn puts on nine stakes over its final week of the meet that closes April 11. The races are worth a cumulative $3.3 million. The Fantasy is the first of five graded offerings, with the grand finale the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby.
Sarah Sis will vie for favoritism in the Fantasy off a clear win in the Grade 3, $150,000 Honeybee at Oaklawn. It was her second attempt at two turns. One start prior, Sarah Sis, who has never finished worse than second, was beaten a head by champion Take Charge Brandi in the $100,000 Martha Washington, a one-mile race at Oaklawn.
“She’s a special filly,” trainer Ingrid Mason said of Sarah Sis, who races for Joe Ragsdale. “She has a lot of heart.”
KEY CONTENDERS
Sarah Sis (Last 3 Beyers: 80-77-77)
◗ She has long shown quickness, with front-running sprint wins at Arlington Park and Keeneland, but has made a nice transition to two-turn racing. Sarah Sis tried routing for the first time in the Martha Washington.
“She didn’t break,” Mason said. “She hopped at the start, then she had to go wide. She made up the ground and went on, so that got us both excited because that was her first time going long, and a lot of times they need that race. It’s the first time they go around two turns, and it’s different. She just responds to whatever you tell her to do. That’s what’s unique about her, and then she always seems to have more in the tank.”
◗ Sarah Sis moved to 1 1/16 miles for the Honeybee and was a 1 1/2-length winner over Oceanwave. Sarah Sis stalked the pace set by Super Saks, who returns in the Fantasy, then overtook that one, opened up on the field, and coasted home under regular rider Julio Felix.
Oceanwave (Last 3 Beyers: 77-76-76)
◗ She made her two-turn debut in the Honeybee and came rolling in the stretch after getting held up in traffic.
“If she could have gotten clear early on, I think she had a good shot of winning that last race,” said Wayne Catalano, who trains Oceanwave.
◗ Oceanwave was making her two-turn debut after winning back-to-back sprint races at Keeneland and Oaklawn.
“We think she wants to go a little longer,” Catalano said. “The last race indicated she can get the distance. She was still running at the end.”
◗ Ramon Vazquez has the mount from post 10.
Pangburn (Last 3 Beyers: 70-78-73)
◗ She closed from well back for third in the Honeybee.
“We’re going to add some blinkers,” said trainer Ken McPeek. “We just want to give her a little focus, not be so far back in the race.”
◗ Pangburn was Grade 2-placed at Churchill Downs last fall, when she ran second in the Pocahontas.