Princess of Sylmar Wins Kentucky Oaks

(The above photo is copyrighted by Anne M. Eberhart.)

Thirty-eight to one long shot Princess of Sylmar won today's running of the Kentucky Oaks, giving jockey Mike Smith his first win in the Oaks during his storied career.  The Pensylvania-bred chestnut filly charged up the center of the track, beating juvenile champion Beholder by a half-length.  Three lengths back, Unlimited Budget hit the finish line a head in front of betting favorite Dreaming of Julia.
  This morning, I had decided to place three $10 win bets.  I won $398.00 on the Princess.  My other picks, Pure Fun, finished in sixth place, and Silsita was last in the field of ten.

Kentucky Oaks Today

My personal favorite for the Kentucky Oaks, Flashy Gray, is out of the race with a bruised heel on her right fore - so, who does that leave?  A whole card full of talent - seven of these ten fillies are Grade 1 winners; seven won their last race, and the other three finished in the money.  What do we have to choose from?  Normally, I'd be betting on Dreaming of Julia, who is running from gate 8; but she is the betting favorite.  She is a gorgeous bay, trained by Todd Pletcher, and will have John Velasquez on her back - and I love her pedigree.  Because she is the betting favorite, however, I'll be betting my money on other fillies.  Three of the ten fillies have never lost a race: Close Hatches, a granddaughter of Unbridled, Midnight Lucky, and Unlimited Budget.  Midnight Lucky has only raced twice, even though she won by a combined 7 lengths.  I'm afraid the Kentucky Oaks crowd will make her nervous.  Just for pure contrariness, and because I love a long-shot, I'll bet $10 to win on these three fillies: Princess of Sylmar (with Mike Smith in the irons), Pure Fun (with Julian Leparoux up), and Silsita (with Gary Stevens on board).  Honestly, I just like the looks of these fillies, along with their bloodlines...  Let's see what happens at Churchill Downs today.
  I will also spend this afternoon looking at race results of the colts running in tomorrow's Derby.  I would love it if the weather forecast for Louisville did not include rain - but that's not the case.  How many of these colts have run on a wet track?  Have any of them run on a "muddy" track?  If you are a "come from behind" horse, the difference between the sting of dry dirt and clay and the large clumps of sticky mud that might be there, is quite a difference.  A lot of young horses hate the mud; they feel like their feet are sliding, they don't like the clumps thrown into their faces, and a few just hate puddles...  The weather will make betting on the Derby a very interesting proposition tomorrow....
**** And, a note of sadness...  Miner's Mark, the 23-year-old son of Mr. Prospector and undefeated Personal Ensign, was put down on April 30.  No reason has been given. ****

Kentucky Oaks on Friday

Eleven fillies are entered to run in Friday's Kentucky Oaks, the girls' equivalent to the Kentucky Derby.  My husband, Jeffrey, was crazy over grey or roan horses, so he'd be betting big money on three of the gorgeous girls who are running.  While Bob Baffert isn't running a colt in the Derby, he has a grey or roan filly in the Oaks - Midnight Lucky.  Todd Pletcher has four ladies running, including the grey Silsita; while one of Bill Mott's trainees, Flashy Gray, is also a roan or grey.  If I were betting on looks alone, I'd go with Pure Fun and Flashy Gray.  Eight of the fillies were bred in Kentucky, with Princess of Sylmar bred in Pennsylvania, and both Silsita and Unlimited Budget are Florida-breds.  In bloodlines, I particularly like Dreaming of Julia and Silsita, followed by Beholder, Flashy Gray and Close Hatches. Following is the post position draw:
1 -  Silsita
2 -  Midnight Lucky
3 -  Beholder
4 -  Unlimited Budget
5 -  Seaneen Girl
6 -  Princess of Sylmar
7 -  Pure Fun
8 -  Dreaming of Julia
9 -  Rose to Gold
10- Flashy Gray
11- Close Hatches