LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Neither a muddy track nor a shaky start to the biggest race of her career deterred Good Cheer from staying perfect.
The unbeaten filly rallied on the outside through the slop to overtake Tenma by the final furlong and win the 151st Kentucky Oaks by 2 1/4 lengths on Friday at Churchill Downs.
Louisville-born trainer Brad Cox watched the heavy 6-5 favorite cover 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.15 on a wet but sealed surface with Luis Saez aboard. Good Cheer paid $4.78, $3.62 and $3.02 for her seventh dominant victory.
The bay daughter of Megdalia d’Oro and Wedding Toast by Street entered the Oaks with a combined victory margin of more than 42 lengths, and on Friday, she added more distance to her resume with a stunning surge.
It’s the biggest in a string of graded stakes wins dating back to last fall, and it came with a garland of pink lilies.
“We know she is a very special filly,” said Saez, who rode to his sixth consecutive win aboard Good Cheer. “Of course, we were a little nervous, but I know she has a lot of talent. I rode her pretty confident because we know … she’s going to make a big move.”
Cox, who grew up blocks from Churchill Downs, earned his third Oaks win in seven years, Saez his second in three. Good Cheer ownership group Godolphin LLC won its second Oaks in three years and seeks its first Kentucky Derby win on Saturday with Sovereignty and East Avenue.
The trainer’s Oaks win follows a stakes win by filly Immersive, who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race on the way to clinching the Eclipse Award as the top 2-year-old. Cox took satisfaction in how Good Cheer ran with no room for error as the overwhelming favorite of 13 horses.
“She travels around the turn and then you’re like, ‘Well, she’s coming,’” he said. “And then all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, she’s three (lengths) in front of them. So she definitely passed the eye test.”
Drexel Hill paid $21.02 and $11.76 for second while Bless the Broken was third and returned $4.78.
A thunderstorm that roared through about two hours before the scheduled post left the track soggy and sent many of the 100,910 fans seeking shelter at the track’s urging. The $1.5 million showcase for 3-year-old fillies was delayed by 10 minutes, and the conditions proved to be a minor nuisance for Good Cheer.
She was off the pace after starting from the No. 11 post but well within range of the leaders before charging forward through the final turns. Good Cheer was fourth entering the stretch and closed inside and into the lead, pulling away for her fourth win at Churchill Downs and second in the mud.
“Once you get her out and open, she’s going to dig in and run hard as well,” Michael Banahan of Godolphin LLC said. “I was happy enough where she was down the backside and I know there was a little bit of speed in the race as well. Luis had her in a good spot and she looked like she was running comfortably.”
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