March 30, 2016
There were a lot of big stables and a lot of big fillies in the Grade II FG Oaks on Saturday afternoon but form was true and Wicked Heat was the best of the bunch, solidifying her favourite status for the KY Oaks with a huge win from off-the-pace. A daughter of KYD winner Commanding, from a mare bred by KYD winner Ghost Walker, she has all the pedigree to handle a route of ground and becomes the latest star on the way to CD, with nearly $850.000 in earnings and no worse than third in nine starts on her resume.
Kitty Packs A Punch (25.80) knew that she needed to go out to the lead from the widest stall and led the FG Oaks field into the first turn with West Coast Cooler (18.25) to her inside and My Lady (5.60) in the middle. Heading into the first turn, those three took the initiative with Disney Music (9.55) into fourth and Dirty Deeds (10.95) holding the rail after breaking evenly, with the hope of holding the leaders just that little bit wide. The first split of 23.46 was clearly a good sign for the closers as West Coast Cooler and Kitty Packs A Punch battled up front but heading into the short backstretch, No Scrubs (15.90) made a bold move out wide and looked like she was going to blow them away while a length to the good. However, the wide post did not allow her to get to the inside and being stuck wide, with only a handful of races under her belt, made it very difficult for her to find that needed late drive and My Lady came inside with Dirty Deeds between to sweep the lead away from her. Six-furlongs in 1:11.08 saw the field bunch up considerably with Dirty Deeds taking the lead by nearly a length but from the backfield came the closers and with a dream run inside, Wicked Heat (*2.40) took dead aim at the leader with just over a furlong to go and made it a two-horse race to the wire. With that little bit of experience at this level on her side, she was able to keep a straight path to the line and score by a half-length, with Dirty Deeds drifting out but still a clear second from Laff Night Out (10.05) and Looknlisten (11.70), who came rocketing the line together to finish whiskers apart in third and fourth. Effortless Admiral (6.50) was fifth from the parking lot with My Lady a tiring sixth, You Gotta Believe (26.85) an even seventh and Disney Music, No Scrubs and Sovereign Nation (13.25) wide near the back of the pack. Early leaders Kitty Packs A Punch and West Coast Cooler had nothing for the drive and finished up the track, as it was clearly a closing race for those who knew how to handle the distance around two-turns.
After facing the best of her division as a juvenile and scoring some big points, Wicked Heat seems to be the most improved three-year-old filly at HRP and looks every bit the part of a budding KY Oaks winner off her score here at FG against a solid field. She can now head to CD with the knowledge that she is the leader of her division and unless the post position gods taunt her, with the understanding that the pace will be quick and set things up for her perfectly.
Congratulations goes out to owner EasyMoney Stables and their three-year-old filly Wicked Heat, a sharp off-the-pace winner of the Grade II FG Oaks!
Prediction Effortless Admiral / Wicked Heat / Laff Night Out
Winner Wicked Heat
Three-year-old chestnut filly
Commanding-Soul Gem (Ghost Walker)
Owner EasyMoney Stables
Time 23.46, 47.09, 1:11.08, 1:41.62
Overall
Wicked Heat *2.40 inside run, found room, driving
Dirty Deeds 10.95 held rail, clear into late, caught
Laff Night Out 10.05 far back, sweeping late run
Looknlisten 11.70 tracked, just nosed for placing
Effortless Admiral 6.50 wide from start to finish
My Lady 5.60 pressed pace, evened out
You Gotta Believe 26.85 no threat
Disney Music 9.55 midpack early, faded
No Scrubs 15.90 wide move into backstretch, tired
Sovereign Nation 13.25 no factor
Kitty Packs A Punch 25.80 set pace, weakened badly
West Coast Cooler 18.25 came up empty
Triple T Racing 🙂
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
