The CCA Oaks (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Eighth on the Dirt
July 24, 2021

The field was strong for the 18th running of The CCA Oaks was quite strong. One would expect it to be, but this race had a special level of excitement to it with so many TC runners taking part in it. This makes what was essentially a two length win for Naples all the more impressive. The reigning KYO winner was not only able to pull this one out, she did it in a dominant fashion, making a statement that she is one to watch over the next few months as we get ready for the BC. She is owned by Arindel, giving him his first win in the race. Winning rider D Davis is also a first time winner, so congratulations to them! The race was run in a time of 1:48.05, the second fastest edition of the race held at nine furlongs. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :47.43)- The four starters on the outside break the quickest from the gate, and ultimately Shining Moments, out of RNP Stables, is the fastest of them all and takes a length lead going into turn. The other three quick starters were content to run three wide around the turn, and it’s Intolerable, from Mb Stables, with a head in front of that group. To his inside is Mo Mentum Farm’s Princess Jasmine, and Smokey Stover’s Sundress is to her outside. Sitting about two lengths back is our eventual winner, Arindel’s Naples. She’s in the second lane at this time, and positioned right behind Intolerable. Nearby to her is Power Walk, the post time favorite from Mb Stables. There’s a big gap to Lady Narloff (TwinTowersRacing) and another big gap to E Road (Fractious).

(¾ Mile- 1:11.20)- After six furlongs, it was looking as though things were going to get quite exciting in the turn, but we weren’t quite there yet. Shining Moments still had the lead, but was caught Intolerable who was now within a neck. A gap opened up to her inside for Princess Jasmine to utilize, but Naples was creeping forward a bit and had the ability to swipe that lane away from her as they approached the exit of the turn. As this was going on, Sundress continued her steady run on the outside of Intolerable, with nothing to hinder her within the stretch if she maintained the lane. Power Walk did not move forward like the others did, and there was still a big gap to Lady Narloff and E Road.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- Into the stretch, it is now Intolerable with the lead, and she completes the pass of Shining Moments and now would take on the task of holding off other rivals behind her. Sundress would move to the outside a little more, creating a very nice gap for Naples to come through, and that was certainly a welcome sight for Arindel. Now, his filly did not have to fight with Princess Jasmine to get the other lane to the inside of Intolerable first. As for Princess Jasmine, she was slowly taking that lane, but you had the sense that we needed to see more out of her at this point. Meanwhile, Power Walk was looking more and more like a non-factor, but hold on, there’s something brewing in the back! Lady Narloff, the 23/1 longshot, responded with a huge run on exit of the turn and cut into her deficit significantly. She still faced about a four length gap to the leader. Doable if that was the only one she had to pass, but it was going to be a tough task to get around them all. E Road did not have the same kind of response.

(Finish- 1:48.05)- Intolerable would be no match for Naples. In the stretch, the KYO winner made it look easy, moving by on the outside quickly and then opening up without much difficulty. As she approached the wire, she had given everyone the slip, pulling away from all but one of them. The only one a little quicker was Lady Narloff, who did all she could, and that was enough to get by everyone else. Naples, however, was too far away to be caught and wins this race, essentially by two lengths. Definitely an impressive score here. Intolerable was a length behind Lady Narloff eventually, and is third in a photo over Sundress. Shining Moments dropped to fifth and Princess Jasmine lacked stretch response, placing sixth. Power Walk disappointed her supporters in seventh, beating only E Road, who was apparently in this race but never really seen on the viewer during it.

About The Winner- Naples, trained by Arindel and ridden to victory by D Davis, is a three year old filly by Shark Force and is out of Pivotal Cherokee. She was bred as a first quarter two year old by Mo Mentum Farm in California, and acquired by Arindel via Fractious for $750.000 in Febraury 2021. The win is her seventh in 12 starts, her sixth stake win and fifth graded win. Three of them are Grade 1’s. Her career earnings are now $1,825.000.

Track: Fast
Time: :47²  1:11¹  1:35³  1:48

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 3 Paid 64.60
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 3 – 6 Paid 836.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES