Oaks Updates

CENTRAL/FLORAL PARK EDGES GRADE I WINNER SUTRA; EIGHT TO VIE IN FAIR GROUNDS OAKS – Overbrook Farm’s homebred Floral Park dueled for the early lead and had plenty left to hold off grade I winner Sutra in a Friday allowance race at Oaklawn Park.

The Dallas Stewart-trained daughter of Forest Wildcat drew clear in the stretch to win the six-furlong allowance race by 2 ¼ lengths.  Sutra, the winner of last fall’s Frizette (GI) at Belmont Park for trainer Mike Stidham, rallied to finish second in her first outing since a ninth-place finish to 2-year-old filly champion Dreaming of Anna in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) at Churchill Downs.

Both fillies had shipped from the Fair Grounds to compete in Friday’s race.

Appealing Zophie, Octave, Mistical Plan Head Fair Grounds Oaks Field – Heiligbrodt Racing Stable’s Appealing Zophie, winner of the Spinaway (GI) at two and the Fair Grounds’ Silverbulletday (GIII) in her most recent start, and Starlight Stable and Donald Lucarelli’s Octave, runner-up to champion Dreaming of Anna in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, top a strong field of eight fillies entered on Monday for Saturday’s  $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) at the New Orleans track.

Appealing Zophie turned in a front-running 4 ¼-length victory for trainer Steve Asmussen as she made her first start of 2007 in the Silverbulletday.  The Florida-bred daughter of Successful Appeal finished fourth in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.  She will break from post seven and is the 5-2 morning line choice in the Fair Grounds Oaks.

The Todd Pletcher-trained Octave is set to make her 2007 debut in Saturday’s race and has not raced since the Breeders’ Cup.  She will start from post four at odds of 4-1.

John Velazquez, who is normally Pletcher’s first-call rider, has the mount on Appealing Zophie, while Garrett Gomez will be in the saddle aboard Octave.

Paul Reddam’s Mistical Plan will ship from California to compete at the Fair Grounds for trainer Doug O’Neill.  Mistical Plan, winner of the Sunshine Millions Oaks, will break from the rail post under Corey Nakatani and is the 3-1 second choice.

Others entered to compete in the the 41^st running of the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies include Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Total and Richard, Elaine and Bert Klein’s Get Ready Bertie, the 2-3 finishers in the Silverbulletday.  Jesse Campbell will ride Total, who will start from the outside post, while Edgar Prado has the mount on Get Ready Bertie, who will start from post position three.

Others in the Fair Grounds Oaks field include Whatdreamsrmadeof, Le Chateau and Dawn after Dawn.

WEST/RAGS TO RICHES TOPS LIKELY CAST FOR SANTA ANITA OAKS – Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor’s Rags to Riches, winner of the Las Virgenes (GI) in her stakes debut, heads an expected small field of contenders in next Sunday’s Santa Anita Oaks (GI).

The Todd Pletcher-trained daughter of A.P. Indy has won two of three starts and was the favored individual filly in the opening pool of the 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. Others considered likely for the Santa Anita Oaks include Oak Leaf Breeders’ Cup (GI) winner Cash Included and Runway Rosie, the third-place finisher in the Las Virgenes.

O’Neill Continues Hot Streak In La Habra – Trainer Doug O’Neill, who got the weekend at Santa Anita off to a rousing start with victories by Great Hunter in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (GII) for 3-year-olds and veteran star Lava Man, who won the Santa Anita Handicap (GI) for the second straight year.  O’Neill completed a dream weekend on Sunday when he saddled Pablo Suarez and Alex Vennari’s Super Freaky to win the 34^th running of the La Habra Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Super Freaky won the race on the 6 ½-furlong downhill turf course by 1 ½-lengths over 52-1 longshot Macadamia.  The latter was disqualified and placed sixth for causing a chain-reaction bumping mishap in the stretch, and Pay Wright and Seaside Affair were elevated to the runner-up and third-place spots.

Jon Court rode the winner, who covered the 6 ½-furlongs in 1:12.66. SECOND OAKS FUTURE POOL SET FOR THIS WEEK – The second of three pools of Churchill Downs’ 2007 Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is set for March 8-11. 

Churchill Downs will announce the wagering interests for the four-day pool on Tuesday, March 6.  Wagering will open at noon (all times Eastern) on Thursday, March 8.  Wagering on the pool is set to close at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 11 – 30 minutes after the end of wagering in the accompanying Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

The mutuel field, which included all 3-year-old fillies other than the individual betting interests in February’s opening Oaks Future pool, closed as a narrow favorite over Rags to Riches, who saw her odds plummet following an impressive victory in the Las Virgenes in her stakes debut.

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