Search Results points to Kentucky Oaks next

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - While she may not have faced the division’s best in winning Saturday’s Grade 3, Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct, Search Results got the right type of race to make her a contender for the Kentucky Oaks on April 30, trainer Chad Brown said Sunday.

“I know it wasn’t a stellar field, that’s not her fault,” Brown said the morning after Search Results won the Gazelle by 2 3/4 lengths to remain unbeaten in three starts. “I thought she gained some valuable experience around two turns, gained some valuable fitness running a mile and an eighth on that track. I think she’s got now the bottom under her to run in a race like the Kentucky Oaks. It’s coming together now as a strong enough field and she’s one of the ones, so we’ll take our shot.”

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Search Results added the Gazelle to a half-length victory in the Busher on March 6, which followed a six-furlong maiden win at Gulfstream on Jan. 3.

Search Results ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:54.14 over a slow Aqueduct main track and earned a 92 Beyer Speed Figure.

Brown said he may keep Search Results in New York for one workout before shipping her to Louisville for her final Oaks drill.

Brown said The Grass Is Blue, who won the Busanda in February, will not go on to the Oaks after finishing fourth in the Gazelle. Brown said The Grass Is Blue is likely to get a freshening after a busy winter schedule.

Maracuja, the runner-up in the Gazelle, will be considered for the Kentucky Oaks, according to her trainer Rob Atras.