British interest for Longines Kentucky Oaks, favourite withdrawn from Kentucky Derby at Churchill

Another bumper crowd of over 150,000 is expected to be drawn to the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs racecourse for the eagerly-anticipated first leg of America’s Triple Crown, the feature race on Saturday’s card and the climax to the weekend’s action and Kentucky Derby week.

However prior to that, the 145th running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks is the premier race taking place on today’s card (Friday), and there is British interest as Sophie Doyle bids for a maiden top-level success.

Along with the Kentucky Derby, the Longines Kentucky Oaks was founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. and was first competed for on May 19, 1875 when Churchill Downs was known as the Louisville Jockey Club. The Oaks and the Derby are still the oldest continuously contested sporting events in history and have the distinction of being the only horse races to be held at their original site since its conception.

The Longines Kentucky Oaks is America’s premier and most lucrative race for three-year old fillies, and is held each year on the day before the Kentucky Derby. This feature race is a $1 Million Grade 1 stakes race which is run over a distance of just over a mile, with the winning filly awarded a garland of lilies.
After a landmark 2018 when she rode 83 US winners, Sophie Doyle is relishing the prospect of a first ride in the famous Churchill Downs contest.
Speaking from her Kentucky base on Wednesday, said: “It’s been huge and a big challenge trying to get everything ready and deal with all the press this week.
“When I turned up at Churchill this morning it was absolutely crazy how many people were around. The fans, the owners, the trainers, the jockeys – they all really thrive on it, especially with the Derby coming up.

“I’m riding at Churchill all week and have picked up another ride on Oaks day, which should give me a good feel for the atmosphere and the crowd before I come out to ride in the big one.”

The jockey, who moved to the US in 2013 in search of more opportunities, rides the Larry Jones-trained Street Band in the Kentucky Oaks, the pair having secured qualification with success in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks last month.

Doyle added: “I’ve ridden Street Bandit on her last five starts. She won the Fair Grounds Oaks last time, which was pretty special as we knew once we crossed the line that we’d got an automatic entry into the Kentucky Oaks.”

Last year saw Monomoy Girl take The Oaks while Bob Baffert, one of the last two winning trainers and who won with Abel Tasman in 2017 has a horse entered in the shape of Flor de la Mar.

The favourite for the race is Bellafina, winner of six of her seven starts, including three Grade 1s, and who is trained by ex-Newmarket-based Simon Callaghan. However, similar to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, there are a handful of other horses who could emerge as the winner.
Despite not winning a race since November, Restless Rider will also be contention on the back of three straight second-place finishes and is a solid choice to finish in the top three.

Champagne Anyone is coming off a victory at the Gulfstream Park Oaks in which she beat fellow Kentucky Oaks participant Dunbar Road.
The latter is another one of the potentially strong candidates but she and Restless Rider face a difficult task starting in outside post positions. Of all the top horses, Jaywalk is likely to feature with experience of the track particularly from winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race at Churchill Downs a year ago.

Twenty four hours the focus of attention shifts to the $2 million Kentucky Derby and the first leg of America’s Triple Crown, where another strong field of 20 look to emulate the success of the Baffert-trained Justify from twelve months ago.

However, pre-race favourite Omaha Beach will not run in the race after being diagnosed with an entrapped epiglottis.

Owner Rick Porter said on Wednesday evening that he was still having trouble comprehending the turn of events.

“We were all devastated,” Porter said of the connections, which include Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.

“Where it’s really hurting is we made a lot of plans. First of all, Mike Smith and I are good friends. Telling Mike devastated me right away. All my family was coming for the first time for the Derby. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe this had happened, but it did.”

The withdrawal allows also-eligible Bodexpress to draw into the field of 20 for the Derby off a runner-up finish in the Xpressbet Florida Derby. The horse will break from post 20 whilst all horses outside of Omaha Beach’s assigned post position of 12 will move over one position in the starting gate.

Game Winner, runner-up to stablemate and Derby rival Roadster in the Santa Anita Derby, is now the new favourite although course conditions could again play a major part with the forecast for rain on Saturday meaning the potential for another sloppy, muddy Kentucky Derby.

Swiss watchmaker Longines presents the Kentucky Oaks and Churchill Distaff Turf Mile, and are the Official Watch and Timekeeper of America’s Triple Crown race series.