Sassy Sienna punches Oaks ticket with game Fantasy win

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Brad Cox will not just have his first Kentucky Oaks starter next month. He will have his first two such starters after the trainer of Monomoy Girl watched another one of his charges, Sassy Sienna, edge Wonder Gadot to win the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy in a dramatic photo Friday at Oaklawn Park.

“Wow…it was close, wasn’t it?” Cox said. “She had her head down at the right time.”

For the effort, Sassy Sienna earned 100 eligibility points for the Kentucky Oaks.

Monomoy Girl has long been a top candidate for the Oaks, and she solidified her standing with a dominant win earlier this month in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland. Sassy Sienna was winning her first stakes after a winter season in which she ran second in the Martha Washington and third in the Grade 3 Honeybee, both this meet at Oaklawn.

“She danced every dance here,” said Cox.

Gary Stevens was aboard Sassy Sienna ($25), who raced in second in the Fantasy as Amy’s Challenge set fractions of 22.87 seconds for the opening quarter, 45.88 for the half-mile and 1:10.52 for six furlongs. Amy’s Challenge continued to lead in the stretch, with Sassy Sienna and Wonder Gadot working past her in the late stages. Sassy Sienna won the photo by a nose, covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.63. The fast track was sealed as a rainstorm hit right before the Fantasy.

“It was an awesome, awesome trip,” Stevens said. “She was super sharp and the crew had her ready. She left there running and sat a good trip in second and she just kept grinding it out. Beautiful filly. I was wishing today was a mile and an eighth and that’s a good thing because she will get the mile and an eighth for the Oaks.”

Cox said Stevens is expected to team with Sassy Sienna in the Oaks, while Florent Geroux has the mount on Monomoy Girl. Cox said the fillies will bring versatility into the Oaks.

“Monomoy Girl probably has a little more natural speed, but she can be wherever,” Cox said. “I mean, she doesn’t have to be on the lead. This filly obviously has speed. We kind of chased a filly around there today that has a whole lot of speed.

“[Monomoy Girl and Sassy Sienna] are both nice fillies. They were workmates in the fall. They definitely know each other. They worked with each other twice. They’re both good fillies and they both earned a spot in the Kentucky Oaks.”

Amy’s Challenge was the favorite under jockey Mike Smith, and after her effort she held third, finishing 2 1/4 lengths behind runner-up Wonder Gadot.

“She ran pretty much the same last time,” said Joe Novogratz. “She didn’t take time to catch her air. She just kept going. That’s what Mike Smith said. He said she did not settle down.”

Smith said he could not get Amy’s Challenge “turned off” Friday.

“When the track is sealed like that, it can really make a lot of noise and she just kept running from it,” Smith said. “I tried to slow her down and it made it worse. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She just didn’t get into a rhythm.”

Novogratz noted that while Amy’s Challenge finished in front of Sassy Sienna when second in last month’s Honeybee, he is not inclined to advance to the Kentucky Oaks with the filly he owns with his wife, Amy.

“We gave it two tries at to turns and it didn’t work out,” said Novogratz, adding he will discuss things further, including other options, with trainer Mac Robertson.

Wonder Gadot earned 40 points for the Oaks and Amy’s Challenge, 20. Cosmic Burst, who was fourth, earned 10.

Sassy Sienna earned $240,000 for owners Medallion Racing and Jerry McClanahan, who purchased Sassy Sienna privately in January. She has now won 3 of 9 starts and has earned $394,600.

The remaining order of finish was Bo Peep in fifth, followed by Harbor Lights, Tahoe Dream, and Princess Warrior.