July 16, 2015
Two titans of the turf took to DMR on Saturday afternoon for a classic Grade I event and when all was said and done, Grade III winner Eva The Diva was simply a nose better than Grade I winner Jawbone and joined her as one of the best of her division. The only foal of her crop, from a daughter of Charley Farley, she faltered over a yielding turf last time out but handled the firm turf just fine this time around and now sports five career wins and more than $625.000 in earnings, with a career-best 98-speed rating earned her which sets her up for contests against older rivals in the coming months.
The four fillies in the DMR Oaks broke evenly from the rail out but Caricature Flame (109.00) quickly dropped off the pace, followed by Queen Elizabeta (3.65), and that left Jawbone (1.40) and Eva The Diva (*0.80) to duke it out in the first quarter-mile. While the leaders engaged in their duel to the first turn, it was clear that Eva The Diva wanted no part of a speedy race and she backed off to let Jawbone lead, with the vast longshot already well back in fourth. Positions remained unchanged through a half-mile in 47.54 with 1.5-lengths between the leader, second and third but heading into the backstretch, Queen Elizabeta made her run three-wide and that forced the hand of Eva The Diva, who also started to quicken. Through six-furlongs in 1:10.65, Queen Elizabeta had used all her energy but Eva The Diva looked strong and started to challenge Jawbone with both fillies preparing for a big battle ahead. With a quarter-mile to run, the lead was down to a length with Jawbone inside and Eva The Diva outside and with a furlong to, it looked like the leader had enough in the tank to hold on for a courageous win. But in the final strides, the favourite came through and Eva The Diva extended her stride to score by a nose, with Jawbone the most valiant runner-up you could find. It was 4.5-lengths back to Queen Elizabeta in third and a further three-lengths back to Caricature Flame in fourth, who never got involved in the race in her return to a firm turf.
Eva The Diva attracted a huge purchase price less than two-weeks ago and responded for her new connections with a truly gutsy win in the Grade I DMR Oaks and now sports two big wins over a firm turf, with the prospect of many more to come. The purse of the Grade II Sands Point might be tempting but the feeling is that this might be a BC F&M Turf chance so keeping her in Southern California for a race like the Rodeo Drive Stakes might be the best option before shipping into KEE.
Congratulations goes out to owner Our Athletes and their three-year-old filly Eva The Diva, a last jump winner of the Grade I DMR Oaks!
Prediction Jawbone / Eva The Diva / Queen Elizabeta
Winner Eva The Diva
Three-year-old bay filly
Vatican Mach-Awesome Eighties (Charley Farley)
Owner Our Athletes
Time 47.54, 1:10.65, 1:33.90, 1:45.76
Overall
Eva The Diva *0.80 sat patiently, angled out, up in time
Jawbone 1.40 set pace, had every chance, missed
Queen Elizabeta 3.65 pressed early, tired
Caricature Flame 109.00 no threat
Triple T Racing 🙂
Categories: Grade I
