The BEL Oaks (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Turf
July 6, 2024
The BEL Oaks brought together some of the best female turf horses in virtual racing, and one of them doesn’t seem to mind what surface she runs on. Let Me Explain, a three-year-old filly trained by Mb Stables, gets the job done no matter what the assignment is. On Saturday, she would be covering the longest distance of her career and moving to the grass after winning the Acorn up on SAR dirt last month, and she would make it look easy. With J R Velazquez aboard, Let Me Explain would go wire to wire for her ninth win in 14 starts, and the third win in the race both Mb Stables and J R Velazquez. Congratulations to them! Let Me Explain was our pick to win, but unexpectedly was only the second choice on the board. The time of the win was 1:52.02, which we cannot compare to previous editions. Let’s take a look at it:
(½ Mile- :47.42)- Let Me Explain, our eventual winner from Mb Stables is good out of the gate, and holds off a mild challenge from her stablemate, Pragmatic, for the top spot entering the turn. By the time they have run a half mile, Let Me Explain is able to clear the rest of the field by a length and move over to the rail. Pragmatic settles into a stalking position as the middle horse of a three wide group. Beat Down, from TwinTowersRacing, is on her outside while the Fractious- trained Bella Latte runs directly behind the race leader. Behind these three, we have the post-time favorite from Royalty Stables, Gormley, running alongside Right As Rain (Alydar Stables). Next come Reaper Lightning (Fractious) and Midnight Rumble (Riggins Racing) and running by her lonesome at the back is Turquoise Tide (D J C Racing Stables).
(3/4 Mile- 1:10.91)- Let Me Explain could not look any more comfortable running out on the front end, continuing to lead by a length. Beat Down thought about changing that and pulling up alongside her but would be unable to run quickly enough to do so as Let Me Explain put aside that bid with ease. Beat Down was wise to settle into second and was able to run ahead of both Bella Latte and Pragmatic as they entered the turn. Right As Rain moved three wide from the middle of the pack and had a clear lane in front of her. Gormley had not shown much yet, nor did the three (Reaper Lightning, Midnight Rumble, and Turquoise Tide) behind her.
(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- For as good as Let Me Explain had seemed in the backstretch, she opened a lot of eyes with the way she handled the turn. Staying on the rail, she effortless moved around it in a manner that no one else in this field could deal with. By the time they entered the stretch, the rest of the field was looking at an approximate three length deficit that they had to make up. Bella Latte was the new second place horse, more so by default than by making a bid, since both Beat Down and Pragmatic were tiring out. Right As Rain, with her wide trip, moved into third, and seemed like a good bet to complete the exacta at this stage of the race. The rest of the field still had not done much, and when you are running against Let Me Explain that may not be a good strategy.
(Finish- 1:52.02)- As far as wondering who was going to win this race, all we had to do is watch Let Me Explain run to the wire to make it official. She had gotten away from her challengers, being most dominant in the turn, and would go on to cruise to a two-length victory. That margin could have been much greater if not for Right As Rain making a good bid in the stretch to be second, and she would hold a two-length edge on third place. Officially we have a dead heat between Bella Latte and Midnight Rumble for that spot, but they were still solidly beaten here. As were Reaper Lightning, Pragmatic, Gormley, Beat Down, and Turqoise Tide.
About The Winner- Let me Explain, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by J R Velazquez, is a three-year-old filly by People Pleaser and is out of Because. She was bred in New York as a yearling by Mb Stables, the only trainer for which she has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her ninth in 14 starts, her eighth stake win and sixth graded win. Her career earnings are now $2,427.780.
| ## | Horse Name | Owner Name | Jockey | Odds | Fin | Time | SRF | ||
| 8 | Let Me Explain | Mb Stables | Velazquez J R | 3.05 | 12 | 1:52.02 | — | ||
| 7 | Right As Rain | Alydar Stables | Bridgmohan S X | 10.35 | 22 | 1:52.49 | — | ||
| 3 | Bella Latte | Fractious | Gutierrez Mario | 5.55 | 3no | 1:52.93 | — | ||
| 9 | Midnight Rumble | Riggins Racing | Geroux F | 23.10 | 3no | 1:52.93 | — | ||
| 4 | Reaper Lightning | Fractious | Moore R L | 9.30 | 51 | 1:52.94 | — | ||
| 5 | Pragmatic | Mb Stables | Franco M | 4.70 | 61 | 1:53.16 | — | ||
| 2 | Gormley | Royalty Stables | Lopez P | 2.60 | 71 | 1:53.44 | — | ||
| 10 | Beat Down | TwinTowersRacing | Cedillo A | 12.20 | 81 | 1:53.68 | — | ||
| 1 | Turquoise Tide | D J C Racing Stables | Pennington F | 38.15 | 9 | 1:53.90 | — |
Track: Firm
Time: :472 1:104 1:342 1:52
$2 Mutuel Prices:
| 8 – Let Me Explain | 8.10 | 4.20 | 3.00 |
| 7 – Right As Rain | 9.30 | 5.60 | |
| 3 – Bella Latte | 3.00 | ||
| 9 – Midnight Rumble | 8.30 |
$1 Exacta: 8 – 7 Paid 83.70
$1 Trifecta: 8 – 7 – 3 Paid 211.80, 8 – 7 – 9 Paid 211.80
Scratched: End Of The Devil, Superface Party(L)
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
