Oaks News

The $250,000 Beaumont, a Grade 2 race to be run at Keeneland on Thursday, has lured a solid field of eight sophomore fillies looking at their last chance to punch a ticket to the Kentucky Oaks. The contingent is led by Florida shipper Forever Together and California invader Baroness Thatcher.

The Beaumont seems like a quirky prep for the Kentucky Oaks due to its distance of about seven furlongs. The notion of using a sprint race as a prep to run in the Kentucky Oaks (1 1/8-miles) may seem unconventional but has been fairly successful. In 2003, Bird Town won the Kentucky Oaks after finishing second in the Beaumont. Two years ago, In the Gold won the Beaumont prior to a second place finish in the Kentucky Oaks.

The most likely filly in the race to wear lilies in several weeks may be Zayat Stables' Baroness Thatcher. The Patrick Biancone trainee won the Santa Ysabel (Grade 3) in early January and followed that up with a tenacious second place finish in the Las Virgenes (Grade 1). She nearly took the Las Virgenes field from gate-to-wire but was run down by Rags to Riches, the Goliath of the 3-year-old filly division, in the final yards. Baroness Thatcher, a daughter of Johannesburg, shortens up to the one-turn distance after a dismal fourth place finish in the Santa Anita Oaks in which she finished nine-lengths behind Rags to Riches. A potential advantage for Baroness Thatcher is that she already owns a win over the surface, having broken her maiden here by five lengths at this distance. In the Beaumont, Baroness Thatcher is slated to break from post five under jockey Julien Leparoux and has been installed as the 2-1 morning line favorite.

The filly posing the most ominous threat to Baroness Thatcher is Augustin Stable's undefeated lassie Forever Together. The grey daughter of Belong to Me remained unbeaten and untested after she coasted to a two-length victory in the Forward Gal (Grade 2) last time out at Gulfstream Park. The race marked a significant step up in class off just a maiden victory and a win over restricted stakes competition, but Forever Together made it look easy. While her trainer, Jonathan Sheppard, may not be thinking about the Kentucky Oaks, his filly is a force to reckon with at this sprint distance. She is the second-choice on the morning-line at 3-1 and breaks from post six, immediately to the outside of Baroness Thatcher.

The only filly in this race boasting a Grade 1 victory is Sutra, victress of last year's Frizette at Belmont Park. She has not followed up well since that effort with a dismal showing in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and a second place finish in a second level allowance at Oaklawn Park last month. The Meadlowlake filly has posted a trio of good works since her 3-year-old bow and looks to regain her winning form, breaking from post seven under Garrett Gomez.

Another interesting entrant in this race is the Helen Pitts trainee Silverinyourpocket. The Silver Deputy filly tried to stretch out around two turns last time out and was met with the first defeat of her career as she struggled home to a fifth place finish in the Bourbonette (Grade 3) at Turfway Park. The race also marked her only start over a synthetic racing surface, a task she will be asked to complete again in this race. Prior to that effort, however, she posted a couple of nice wins at sprinting distances at Gulfstream Park, including a eye-popping 6 ¼-lengths score over the highly touted Magical Ride in a 6 ½-furlong allowance race. She should appreciate the retraction in distance. She breaks from post four under Rafael Bejarano.

The field is rounded out by Pro Pink, Eternal Grace, Palace Pier, and Street Sounds. The race is carded as the eighth contest of the day with a local post time of 4:45pm EDT.

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