HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Brad Cox is stockpiling 3-year-old fillies in a bid for in the Kentucky Oaks.
Last Saturday, Cox sent out second-choice Life of Joy to upset heavily favored Bella Ballerina in the Fair Grounds Oaks. This Saturday, Cox did it again, sending out second-choice Prom Queen to upset the heavily favored She Be Smooth to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks.
Next week, Cox will send out Paradise as an expected favorite in the Grade 3 Gazelle at Aqueduct.
Saturday, Prom Queen, despite racing wide under Javier Castellano, overtook pace-setting My Miss Mo in upper stretch and drew clear to win the Gulfstream Park Oaks by 2 3/4 lengths. My Miss Mo, second to She Be Smooth in the Grade 2 Davona Dale on Feb. 28, finished second by 3 3/4 lengths over She Be Smooth, the 4-5 favorite.
Prom Queen, making her stakes debut off an eight-length maiden win on Feb. 12, earned 100 qualifying points toward the Oaks, a race Cox has won three times including last year with Good Cheer. The Gulfstream Park Oaks was run at 1 1/16 miles and the Kentucky Oaks, on May 1, will be run at 1 1/8 miles, which is just fine with Cox.
“I think the longer the better, I think the mile and an eighth will suit her,” Cox said. “Javier put her in a great position today knowing it was a mile and a sixteenth, short stretch, but I think the longer stretch will benefit her moving forward.”
Prom Queen was beaten 2 1/4 lengths by She Be Smooth in a one-turn mile maiden race here on Jan. 23. Cox wheeled Prom Queen back in 20 days when a 1 1/16-mile maiden race was put up as an extra by the racing office.
Prom Queen is more tactical than She Be Smooth, which definitely gave her the edge in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, a race which didn’t have much pace.
My Miss Mo, under Tyler Gaffalione, maintained a one-length advantage through a half-mile in 48.52 seconds and six furlongs in 1:12.49. Castellano, who said he rode Prom Queen with patience in her maiden win, was more conscious of keeping her closer to the pace on Saturday.
Prom Queen, racing in the four path, was within two lengths of the lead down the backside, moved within a length of the front-runner on the far turn before overtaking My Miss Mo inside the three-sixteenths pole.
“It seemed to me the track is playing a little speed-[favoring],” Castellano said. “I don’t want to be too far behind; the horse you have to beat [She Be Smooth] is right behind me. I tried to get a position, let her get a spot, I kept her outside. clean trip, beautiful the way she moved. Seems to me, the longer the better.”
Prom Queen, a daughter of Quality Road and owned and bred by Gary and Mary West, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.40 (90 Beyer Speed Figure) and returned $8.20 as the second choice.
My Miss Mo, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., earned 50 points for second and now has 75 points and is likely Kentucky Oaks-bound. She Be Smooth, who also has 75 points is definitely Oaks-bound, trainer Todd Pletcher said after the race.
Pletcher said She Be Smooth likes to make one run and “to do that, you gotta have a lot of pace to run at.”
She didn’t have it Saturday. She may get it in the Kentucky Oaks where the pace may be hot, but the competition – which will include Prom Queen and Life of Joy – will be hotter.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.