FG Oaks (Grade 2) (KYO)- $400.000 Purse
FG- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 26, 2022

This Saturday, we officially enter the 100-point races for the KYO. There are a total of six of them that will be contested before we ultimately run with the Oaks in about five weeks. It will be exciting to take you through these races, all the way up to the first Friday in May. Heading into these big races, Shadow Police is atop the KYO point leaderboard, and Smokey Stover has three fillies within the top 12, more than any other trainer. In 2021, Team 7 Illusions snapped a three race winning streak that Mb Stables had in the race by leading Mag Ol to the big win. She was a bit of a surprise winner that day, and she would never run again for that trainer, as he sold her off in late April to Grayfriars Stable. She has not won since the FG Oaks. Hot Summer and Power Walk were the other two that hit the board in that race. Twelve will hit the gate this year, and let’s take a look at them now!

#1- Venezia (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Looking to get her first points of the KYO chase as she is still a lightly raced filly. Since going over a mile, she is a perfect two for two, with each of the wins coming at GG. Showed she can handle a tough crowd six weeks ago by winning the $100.000 El Camino, doing so while coming from off the pace. There are bigger names here, but you have to like the form that she is showing of late, and she can definitely handle this group if she keeps it up.

#2- Paris Broadway (Arindel, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Picked up in private sales from Glorify Stables for $185.000 in January after having some success against ON-breds in sprints. Arindel has bigger plans for her and ran her in the Grade 3 Davis Stakes last month, just two weeks after purchasing her. She would step up for Arindel, picking up the victory, and the 10 KYO points that came with it. The trainer has other great fillies, but she’s certainly right there with the rest of them.

#3- Verve (Mb Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Right now, Verve has not really justified being in races like this with her results, as she still only has one career win. Hit the board in the $200.000 Rags To Riches, but struggled mightily in the Risen Star when it was all the rage to enter fillies in Derby preps. Noticed how that talk has quieted down lately, by the way. Verve will be better against her own gender, but is she KYO caliber? Must show it here.

#4- Moment To Dream (Alydar Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- The trainer decided that he was going to chase the dream of owning the KYO winner this year by purchasing this filly from Fractious at the beginning of February for $450.000. It came three months after she ran third in the BC Juvenile Fillies so by then she was already well known. Her lone race for Alydar disappointed, placing fifth in the Alexandra. Has five points to her name as of now, so the dream must start becoming reality now.

#5- Lassitude (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by J Lezcano)- Right now, the trainer has one filly in the KYO with Drilldownfortruth, as long as he wants her there, and hopes to get Lassitude there as well. She has two points right now, but still has just one win in nine career starts. Was a BC runner last year, as she did have a great juvenile campaign, but as a three year old, she’s been out of the money each time. Probably not going to try the same tactic as she was on in the Honeybee, but if she does, will need to find a way to finish much better.

#6- Ginger Lucy (The Sidley Stud, ridden by D Davis)- We have not seen much of this filly in 2022, having just raced once, coming at the beginning of this month. Her two year old season was mostly spent on the grass, and she did get to make a start in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, but that’s about all there is to say about her race. This year, put blinkers on for the Santa Ysabel Stakes, placed third, part of her 20 points so far.

#7- Directors Chair (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- In recent years, Nakamura has had many great fillies that have contended for a KYO title, but he has still not won the race. Directors Chair is one of two fillies he owns that are in the top sixteen, currently in 11th. She definitely showed this form as a two year old, placing second in a photo in the BC Juvenile, with the same finishing spot in both the Frizette and Demoiselle, as well. Started this year right, winning the Smarty Jones on New Years Day, and was also fourth in the Withers.

#8- Main Flirt (Mb Stables, ridden by E Jaramillo)- The second filly in the race to be sold by Fractious for $450.000. Main Flirt switched her silk colors in late January, and has made one start for Mb since. Like he did with Verve, he entered Main Flirt in the Risen Star, and collected the same amount of winnings with each of them. She’s been better against her own gender (though the Risen Star pretty much was a 50-50 split), and won the Golden Rod at CD last November as her signature race to this point.

#9- Zin (Rock Creek, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Another one of the fillies who failed to do anything in the Risen Star last month. In fact, she was especially subpar. Overall, she has won twice in nine starts, with each of those wins coming on the grass. She did place second in the Silverbulletday Stakes, so she does have four points for the KYO board right now. Has hit the board in all but one of the races she has been in against fillies.

#10- Lotta Carnival (Oval Express Farms, ridden by D E Centeno)- Surprised many people last month in the Honeybee, where she ran third with just one win to her credit to that point. It might have been the speed figure from the TAM win that was unappealing, and she proved she was much better in the Honeybee. That got her ten points, and now comes the age old question of how will she follow up that kind of effort.

#11- The Intouchables- Scratched

#12- Biggle (Mb Stables, ridden by C J Hernandez)- One of three in the field from Mb Stables, and the only one who was not in the Risen Star last month. Instead, Biggle was down at GP, running in an optional claimer at five furlongs on the grass that she won. That race represented a drop in class from the ungraded stakes she had been in, which were all also on the turf. Put forth a strong dirt work at AQU in her return to the main track, where she has not been since the Sorrento Stakes in August.

#13- Gold Chatter (Mwn Racing, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)- The scratch of The Intouchables gives Gold Chatter a chance to prove herself in this race. She’s hit the board in four of her five races, but only one of them is a win. She has also never run more than six furlongs, so this is a tough way to get your first start running long, but we’ve seen it happen before. That said, she won’t be my pick.

Prediction: 1-7-2-4

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES