HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said Sunday the campaign to be mapped out for Claret Beret this season will be determined by working backward from the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
She earned a berth for the race Saturday, with a 4 1/2-length win in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park. It was the first time the Apple Blossom was run as a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race.
Claret Beret earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 105 for her effort. Joseph said she emerged from the race in good order, and was to head back to her South Florida base on Monday. Joseph said multiple race options are on the table for the 5-year-old daughter of Not This Time owned by Miller Racing.
“Obviously, the Grade 1s now are at Saratoga,” he said. “There is one back at Churchill in three weeks, but I think that will probably be too soon. So, we have to consider Saratoga, or, I think there’s a race at Churchill in June on Stephen Foster Day. It might be a Grade 2, but we know she likes that track. Maybe we just go back there. We’re going to work backward from the Breeders Cup.”
The Grade 1, $1 million La Troienne is May 1 at Churchill Downs, while the track’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fleur De Lis is set for June 27.
In the Apple Blossom, Claret Beret covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.21. The time was the fastest since the 2011 edition, when Havre de Grace won in 1:42.19. The Beyer earned by Claret Beret ranks as the highest two-turn dirt number for a filly or mare so far in 2026.
The champion Nitrogen finished second in the Apple Blossom, one start after finishing third in the slop in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn. She emerged from Saturday’s race in good order, trainer Mark Casse said Sunday.
“She’s great,” he said. “I thought she ran her race. I was very happy with her. And then I see the Beyer numbers, and I wasn’t wrong. We matched our career high of 97. So, we ran our race.”
Nitrogen finished 3 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Majestic Oops, who had won the Azeri.
“She beat the fillies that beat her last time pretty solidly,” Casse said of Nitrogen. “That was the confusing part for us, her effort in the Azeri. We couldn’t figure it out, except for the [wet] racetrack and she proved that yesterday. She beat those fillies solidly that beat her before.”
Casse said race plans going forward are to be determined for Nitrogen, a six-time graded stakes winner who has earned $2.4 million for breeder and owner D.J. Stable.
“I’m not sure exactly where we go from there, maybe to New York, but we’re happy with her,” Casse said. “She’s going to head to Kentucky, probably in the next few days. She may leave Wednesday. We’re still talking about that.”
Majestic Oops, who won the Azeri, finished third in the Apple Blossom.
“She ran a good race,” trainer Dan Ward said Sunday. “She got in a little bit of traffic and was a little strong at the first part of the race. Maybe it was because she was in traffic and it was a bigger field, and, out in the [infield] grass [for riders up] she got worked up. She was kind of pulling more than she usually does, but I thought she ran a really good race, though.”
Ward said plans are to be determined for Majestic Oops, who won a sprint stakes at Oaklawn before the Azeri.
“I don’t know what the owners want to do,” he said. “She is nominated for the [Derby City] Distaff on Derby Day. It's seven-eighths. That would only be three weeks, but I don’t know what they want to do. She came out of the race good and jogged good, so we’ll just figure it out.”
The Grade 1, $1 million Derby City Distaff is on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
Majestic Oops went over $1 million in earnings in the Apple Blossom.
“Somebody notified me that she’s only a few hundred thousand away from being the top Cal-bred female [earner] of all-time,” Ward said, noting the list of fillies and mares is led by Moscow Burning.
Moscow Burning earned $1,417,800 during her career, while Majestic Oops is at $1,064,806. The versatility that Majestic Oops has shown in her career gives her lots of race options for her next start.
“It could be short or long, fast or sloppy,” quipped Ward. “It doesn’t matter.
“She’s been super.”
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