DMR Oaks (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
DMR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
August 19, 2023

The highlight of the day at DMR on Saturday will be the 20th running of the DMR Oaks, which provides three-year-old fillies great opportunity to further their careers as the BC draws closer. It’s a nine-furlong race on the grass and has been a Grade 1 ever since it first appeared on our schedule. The purse level has largely been consistent at $300.000, but there were a few years when it was a little higher or a little lower. Past winners of the race include Machiavellian Lady, Tight Pockets, and “always wins when I write her up in a preview” Eva The Diva. Last year, State Caviar got the job done for Smokey Stover, and would be her last hurrah. She would only make one more start after that, a stunningly poor race at the JC Oaks which led to the trainer retiring her. Whoever wins this year will certainly be hoping for more successes than that afterwards! There are nine going to post for this race, and here’s a look at them!

#1- Mundi Moon (High Voltage, ridden by E Maldonado)- Picked up in private sales for $55.000 in February, and would be elevated into the stakes ranks for her three-year-old campaign. This started well, with back-to-back runner up finishes, including a near miss at the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes. Has continued running well, and I am not really put off by her last start, where she was only sixth in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes here last month. Yes, she will have to be better than that, but based on her form before that race, I feel she can bounce back without much issue.

#2- Greek (Mb Stables, ridden by A Beschizza)- While this filly did manage to pick up a fourth-place check in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall, this will actually be her first stake appearance since that race. So far in 2023, Greek has only run in overnights, and primarily at TAM or FE. Her performances in those races certainly did not inspire the trainer to give her another stake chance, but something has clearly happened since her last time out there. Was only third last month in a FE open allowance, and the horse that finished second, while carrying six more pounds, is definitely not being pointed towards a stake. We’ll see what the trainer has discovered, for sure!

#3- Raw And Real (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Up to this point, Raw And Real has won half of her twelve starts, and two of them are among the trainer’s 992 career graded stakes victories (as of press time). That includes her last race, which was at SAR for the Grade 3 Lake George, where she went wire to wire. Five of her six wins have come while doing that, as well. The only time she ran this full nine furlongs, she tried to do the same, but was caught late in the Wonder Again and had to settle for second. The good news for her is that she will have the chance to get revenge on that winner, Hollywood Twister, here in the DMR Oaks. Raw And Real could also include the word consistent in her name because she’s hit the board ten of twelve times.

#4- Twilight Time (Fractious, ridden by A Ayuso)- Last month, Twilight Time ran here in the San Clemente Stakes, and could only manage a fifth-place result. For her, it was her turf debut, after she struggled to find any sort of consistency on the dirt. She had several runs in stakes previously, and her best runs in them were as a two-year-old. This likely sparked the change of surface, and she is going to get another chance at it. It may work out, but there are others in here that I find more appealing right now.

#5- Copper Jewels (Winning Link Stables, ridden by R A Vazquez)- Another horse that is hard to get excited about, but you can understand why she is getting the chance. Copper Jewels won the fourth of July by three lengths in an N1X allowance at LS, in her last start but prior to that she struggled a lot in stakes. Even two back in an optional claimer she was beaten by nine lengths, though we can likely blame the yielding turf for a lot of that. The hope is that she can build on her last start, and that’s not far-fetched, though even if she is better, there are still some big names here she is up against.

#6- Hollywood Twister (Spankys Barn, ridden by F Prat)- Was purchased by the trainer in the December auction for $15.010, and it’s safe to say that has ended up being a great pickup. Hollywood Twister has raced four times since then, winning two and finishing second in another one. Spankys Barn didn’t waste any time with either, putting her in a graded stake in her first race after the auction. This filly comes into the DMR Oaks off of a win in the Grade 2 Wonder Again, where she stalked Raw And Real and got by her late for the win. She’ll be looking to show that she can do the same thing again here.

#7- Ethereum Star (Smokey Stover, ridden by L Dettori)- Looking to pick up the second win in a row for the trainer in the DMR Oaks, and she would seem to be a pretty wise pick to do so. In just six starts, this Sinissippi Star has never failed to hit the board but has also been able to pick up four wins. None of them are at the stake level, and she has only made one stake start, in total, and that was against NY-Breds. Last month, earned a 95 SRF at SAR, so she certainly seems ready to step up now and her consistent nature must definitely be considered here.

#8- Ruby Ridge (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Cedillo)- After breaking her maiden in her sixth career start, Ruby Ridge was entered into the $100.000 Untapable and had a strong run, finishing second. At that point, she would have seemed destined to go on and have a strong three-year-old season but as of right now that has not happened. She’s failed to hit the board in any of her four starts, and the only earnings she has managed came out of her last run, where she was beaten by three lengths in a fourth-place effort at a MTH optional claimer. After last week, I can’t rule out something from this trainer, but I would be more surprised to see her win this than I was to see Stinky Rene win the Beverly D.

#9- Chat My Ears Off (High Voltage, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Won three of her first five races, and all of those wins had one thing in common: she was claimed following the race. When High Voltage picked her up from Riggins Racing, he has bigger aspirations than to simply keep running her in claimers and entered her in the Grade 2 Edgewood. She put in a solid effort, running fourth. Chat My Ears Off still has not won for her latest trainer but has been a length behind the winner each time, so she has been competitive. Could see a similar result here.

Prediction: 3-6-1-7

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES