Oaks News

Sealy Hill struck the front at the top of the stretch and just held off a determined Panty Raid in the final yards of Saturday's $150,000 Bourbonette Breeders' Cup (Grade 3). The top pair may have established themselves as potential contenders for the Kentucky Oaks.

Sealy Hill, a 3-year-old daughter of Point Given, covered the one-mile distance under regular rider Patrick Husbands in 1:37.51 and paid $9.60, $5, and $3.80. Panty Raid came charging at the end under Edgar Prado but could not catch Sealy Hill; she finished second and paid $6.80 and $5.60. Aspiring, dismissed at odds of nearly 27-1, finished third with jockey Miguel Mena in the irons and paid $9.20 to show.

In a surprising turn of events, Acadia Breeze was allowed to grab early pole position and lead the field through moderate fractions of :23.79 for the first quarter-mile and :47.13 for the first half-mile. Floral Park and Tale of the Queen tracked in the next couple spots but applied very little pressure in the early going. An easy early lead was not enough to propel Acadia Breeze, a 38-1 longshot, to continued success in the drive; she clicked off six furlongs in 1:12.35 before she began her retreat to the back of the pack. Sealy Hill was moving best of all turning into the stretch and hit the top of the lane with a couple lengths head start on the rest of the field. That lead came in quite handy as Panty Raid began to grind away at the leader in the stretch drive. Sealy Hill looked desperate for the finish as she survived with the winning margin of a head over her belated rival.

Following third-place finisher Aspiring under the wire was Our Dancing Babe, Silverinyourpocket, Indian War Dress, Bavarian Belle, Olivine, Acadia Breeze, Rivanna River, Tale of the Queen, and Floral Park. Silverinyourpocket went off as the 9-5 favorite in the field of twelve and was marred by a poor trip.

Sealy Hill lined her graded earnings kitty with the $93,000 she earned for the victory. Graded earnings will be important if she decides to progress onto the Kentucky Oaks on May 4 at Churchill Downs. She is owned by Melnyk Racing Stables and trained by Mark Casse, who won the Bourbonette for a record fifth time.

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