Oaks Blogs

So we’ve got a baker’s dozen plus one in the 133^rd Oaks, a most interesting race and the key, natch, to the Oaks – Derby double.

If you like Rags to Riches, the morning line favorite, I’ll understand. She brings a rep, is by the horse some consider the best stallion in all the land (you’re welcome, Lennyfromlexington), has the connections and “could be any kind.”

If you like her stablemate, the gray stretch-kicker Octave, then don’t be shy. Line maker Mike Battaglia hangs her up at 6-1 and it could be you’ll never see that kind of price on her again.

Or how about the “other” horse out of the Pletcher barn, the tall, dark and lovely Cotton Blossom? At 8-1 – and eligible to drift up – she could be the answer to a weekend launch that might send you home laughing and scratching.

And don’t forget the Doug O’Neill missy – Mistical Plan. David Flores is among the best gate riders in the country and will have her out first and on the lead – count on it. And have we ever seen a horse go wire to wire in the Oaks? Seems to me that a filly named Summerly did that very thing here two years ago. And this year with “Mystical” they’re saying 12-1.

But if you’re really up for taking a swing --- if you’d like a Boxcars Baby to set your Oaks Day up right and lead to potential wonders in the Oaks–Derby double -- cast an eye toward a bay filly with a notable set of hindquarters named Dawn After Dawn.

A good fella I know who stays on top of these things told me to go back and watch her race in the Ashland. She finished third that afternoon, beaten less than a length -- but it was even better than that. If you cue it up and view it (and you can easily do that on this site) you’ll see she gets in more jackpots that a Vegas slot machine repair man. Her rider that day dismounted and confessed to the trainer that he didn’t realize how much filly he had under him and that this wasn’t a sample of his “A” riding technique. And now we’ve got a notable rider switch, a rail post where she can save all ground and a whole new opportunity to prove she belongs.

She’s 30-1 on the ML and eligible to be even fatter when the smoke finally clears. Need I say more for those of you who have been know to take a swing now and then?

Hmmmm, let’s see: So we wheel a 30-1 shot in the Kentucky Oaks to “All” in the Derby. And she hits. And now come Derby Day and you can’t lose. It’s only a matter of how much you win!

And, oh, my. Do Derby dreams get any better than that?