The CCA Oaks (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 22, 2018

The top two horses hit the line together, and a close photo would be needed to declare our winner. We knew it would be a Queen, but which won would it be? Jinxed Queen and Indian River Queen both ran well in the stretch of the Grade 1 CCA Oaks, but the crown would be worn by Jinxed Queen on this day, prevailing over her royal rival. This is a filly that has really seen her career move forward since she won the Gazelle, and right now she is really doing nothing wrong. Gdp Inc is the proud trainer of this one, winning the race for the first time. The winning jockey is R Bejarano, who makes the most out of his trip east for this race, and also wins the race for the first time, snapping I Ortiz Jr’s streak. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:48.50, and that’s the third quickest winning time of the race. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :48.37)- Out of the gate the quickest would be Are We Dreamin, from Mb Stables, who would soon be joined by the KYO winner, Misty Firefox, out of Crocker Ggs on the front end. These two are side by side as they round the turn and head into the backstretch. No one else contests their advantage, but Beat To The Punch, the other entry from Mb Stables, is more then happy to assume a stalking position along the rail. One of our queens, Indian River Queen (South Beach Racing), was not immediately quick from the gate, but does move up to be fourth, and will run to the outside of Beat To The Punch. Jinxed Queen, our eventual winner from Gdp Inc, is running at the back with Ivanka, from Winning Link Stables. Those two are only about three and half lengths from the lead themselves.

(3/4 Mile- 1:12.06)- At the front, both Are We Dreamin and Misty Firefox continue to show the way. They still run side by side, and lead the field by a length and a half. Beat To The Punch looked like she wanted to advance on the rail as they entered the turn, but had no room to do so. However, Indian River Queen had the perfect lane at this point of the race, and J J Castellano moved her over to make a three wide move. A little further back, Jinxed Queen was looking for her options as well, and it was seeming as though that would be to make a move to outside of Beat To The Punch, and potentially even go wider then that. Ivanka was hanging with her just fine and looked as though she could also be a stretch threat.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At this point, you still had to think that things looked good for the two front runners. Are We Dreamin and Misty Firefox were still the top two, and especially with Misty Firefox being a filly who knows how to win, Crocker Ggs had to feel pretty good, even with Indian River Queen getting closer with her three wide move. Indian River Queen now only had a length to make up. Beat To The Punch was lacking response as they moved into the stretch. As for Jinxed Queen, she still seemed to be looking for her lane. She had begun to complete the pass of Beat To The Punch, and an opening seemed to be forming between Are We Dreamin and Misty Firefox. This would be ideal for R Bejarano to capitalize on, as it would mean his filly would not even have to break her stride for the stretch. Ivanka was close enough to make a move if she was able too.

(Finish- 1:48.50)- As the stretch run progressed, Jinxed Queen took advantage of the lane that had formed, and particularly in the final furlong, she was at her best, and came on through. But she still had to beat that other queen. Indian River Queen, who had taken that third lane, was able to make the pass for the lead early in the stretch, and looked to be in good shape. She would try to hold on for the win, and in the end, we knew a queen had won, and it would be Jinxed Queen narrowly topping Indian River Queen. Are We Dreamin and Misty Firefox would not be passed by anyone else, and get the 3rd and 4th positions. Beat To The Punch started to get a closer to them in the dying moments, but is still just 5th. Ivanka was never a factor, but was not badly beaten, either.

About The Winner- Jinxed Queen, trained by Gdp Inc and ridden to victory by R Bejarano, is a three year old filly by Z Jinxed One and is out of Thequeenhasspoken. She was bred in the great breeding state of Pennsylvania as a second quarter two year old by Gdp Inc, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her 7th in 10 starts, and her third graded win. It’s her first Grade 1 win. Her career earnings are now $535.900.

Track: Fast
Time: :48¹  1:12   1:36¹  1:48²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 6 Paid 32.20
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 6 – 3 Paid 73.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES