CCA Oaks (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 20, 2024

Fresh off a win in the KYO and a runner up in the Acorn, Wasted Away seemed like the one to beat in the CCA Oaks and was made our pick, but the bettors chose another one to make the post time favorite. Wasted Away would not run this race in the same way that she ran that previous two and that would not matter at all as she earns her fourth career victory while being in the top two in seven of her eight career races. She is trained by Fractious and was ridden by T Gaffalione. For each, it is their first win in this race. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 1:48.01, and that sets a new stake record by .01. Let’s take a look at it:

(½ Mile- :46.62)- Purple Charger explodes out of the starting gate for Fractious and quickly opens up a commanding lead of at least three lengths around the clubhouse turn. The rest of the field is not concerned by this apparent rabbit, as the second place Hobo Blues, the post time favorite from Alydar Stables leads the rest of the field, with Reflex Action half a length behind to her outside for D J C Racing Stables. On her inside is our eventual winner from Fractious, Wasted Away. Guilt Free (TwinTowersRacing) and Nine Lives (Mm Racing) are nearby, then it’s about two lengths to Nazca Lines (Delta Farms) and another to Lab Virus (Saratoga Stud). Trailing are Judicial Watch (TwinTowersRacing) and Ranger Danger (Fractious).

(3/4 Mile- 1:10.88)- Purple Charger is still out front and would maintain her three-length cushion down the backstretch, but soon into the turn, the rest of the field all seemed to pick up at least a length on her. Hobo Blues is still in second, and she continues to have Wasted Away running to her inside. The one that was on her outside, Reflex Action, has lost a bit of ground and has fallen into the clutches of Guilt Free. Nine Lives had been near that one but was tiring out and about to be passed by Nazca Lines. Lab Virus was starting to show a little interest, and Judicial Watch and Ranger Danger would still run at the back.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Around the turn, both Wasted Away and Hobo Blues continued to gain on Purple Charger while running evenly with one another. Wasted Away would look to go to the inside of the pacesetter while Hobo Blues would go to her outside, and for the moment it looked like these two would battle it out to the wire. There was about two lengths to the rest of the pack, which was lead by Reflex Action and Guilt Free. The one to watch here, though, was Lab Virus, as she looked good in the turn, and moved to the outside for the stretch. She seemed to be about to move into fourth imminently in the stretch, but how many more could she get by? Nazca Lines had made up some ground too, but not at the same rate. Nine Lives was dropping out of it, and Judicial Watch and Ranger Danger needed to get going now if they were saving something.

(Finish- 1:48.01)- Early in the stretch, Wasted Away passes her stablemate for the lead, but more impressively, she also is able to draw away from Hobo Blues. With a furlong to go, the race seemed to be in the bag, and T Gaffalione would take a look over his shoulder to see if there were any new challengers coming from behind. Lab Virus was running well on the outside, but that was it, and it didn’t seem like she would be able to get to Wasted Away. In the end, Wasted Away wins by a length with the effort of Lab Virus getting her second by a nose over Hobo Blues. It was another length to Nazca Lines, with Purple Charger dropping to fifth. The rest of the order will read Guilt Free, Judicial Watch, Reflex Action, Nine Lives, and eventually, Ranger Danger.

About The Winner- Wasted Away, trained by Fractious and ridden to victory by T Gaffalione, is three-year-old filly by Fire N Fury and is out of Calescent. She was bred in Florida by Luz International as a third quarter two-year-old, and was acquired by Fractious in private sales in April 2024 for $500.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fourth in eight starts, her third stake win and second graded win. Her career earnings are now $1,509.000.

Track: Fast
Time: :46³  1:10⁴  1:35⁴  1:48

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 1 Paid 40.20
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 1 – 7 Paid 53.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES