Picture: Ben Breland/Eclipse Sportswire
rely the celebrities He picked up the tempo and took the lead on the lengthy detour, then caught up by 5 and a half lengths in Friday’s Grade 2 race, incomes $1 million in prize cash. fantasy stakes He gained at Oak Garden and established himself as a powerful contender for the Kentucky Oaks.
Francisco Arrieta, who had 4 wins on the cardboard, led the 9-10 favourite of coach Mark Kass and proprietor West Level Thoroughbreds to a last time of 1 minute, 44.47 seconds on the quick 1 1/16-mile primary course, a prelude to the Oaks. Honor AP’s daughter was by no means in peril.
Casse’s stablemate Empath (41-1), led by Ramon Vazquez, broke fastidiously and charted his approach alongside the within into the primary flip. She ran a tender fraction of 24.07 seconds for the primary quarter mile and 48.69 seconds for the half. Counting Stars trailed barely on the skin of the leaders, however Arrieta did his finest to carry them again on the backstretch run.
Counting Stars got here ahead at will on the far flip, shook off a transparent flip for residence, and opened up a 5 1/2-length lead on the stretch name. She maintained a gentle hand-riding margin to the wire, finishing the three-quarter mile in 1:13.68 and finishing the mile in 1:38.22.
Search Social gathering (7-2), ridden by Cristian Torres, settled on the second flight alongside the within, however waited till the far flip behind Empath, who pale out in site visitors. Torres led three horses huge into the lane and scored an bold end that secured him second place, three lengths to 9 1/2 lengths.
Taken by the Wind (9-1), ridden by Emmanuel Esquivel and skilled by Kenny McPeak, moved ahead in third huge and went with the winner on a tiring pacesetter within the far flip, however provided little resistance to the search social gathering within the higher stretch. She was regularly weakening, however comfortably saved the present.
Sticker Shock (9-5), ridden by Airad Ortiz Jr. and making his stakes debut for coach Brad Cox, was the final to interrupt away and got here a bit nearer within the last nook on the second street, however stalled within the lane and was out of competition. Empath made the far flip and simply gave approach, ending in final place, 32 3/4 lengths behind the winner.
Coach Bob Baffert’s morning favourite, Explorer, suffered a scrape after working a fever Thursday.
Counting Stars paid $3.80, $2.10, and $2.20. Search Social gathering returned $3.00 and $2.60. The screening payment for Take by the Wind was $3.60.
With solely 5 beginning pitchers, qualifying factors for the Kentucky Oaks had been diminished by 25% to a scale of 75-37.5-18.75-11.25-7.5. The Counting Stars scored 75 factors, pushing their complete to 100 factors on the street to the Kentucky Oaks. Searchers scored a 37.5, rising to 67.5. Taken by the Wind added 18.75 factors.
The Honor AP filly closed out the younger horse race with back-to-back stakes wins at Oaklawn’s Astral Spa In a single day and Yr’s Finish, and completed second to Explorer within the Honey Bee Stakes (G3) on March 1. Friday’s efficiency flipped the script within the absence of a rival and steered Counting Stars could should be taken critically on the primary Friday in Could.
