The BEL Oaks (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
BEL- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Quarter on the Inner Turf
July 8, 2023

As the fabulous card at BEL continues on Saturday, we will have the 21st running of the BEL Oaks, which is a great opportunity for female turf horses to win a large purse and valuable points for the BC Fillies and Mares Turf that is now just four months away. The race was first contested in 2003, when it was won by Majesty for a $250.000 purse. That purse level increased all the way up to $1,000.000, where it stood from 2014 through 2018. In 2019, it would get a reduction, and last year it ran for $700.000. Therefore, the $500.000 that it will be going for in 2023 is a disappointing mark when considering where the race has been in the past. Last year, it was Perfect Class picking up the win, for Sccj Stables, as the second of six straight wins, a run that would also include winning the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. She was last seen here last month in the Grade 1 NY, where she was third, so not quite what she was last year, but still running well. We have a field of nine entered into this year’s race. Let’s take a look at them now!

#1- Andie Walsh (First Flight Stable, ridden by T Gaffalione)- Starting on the rail, this filly is still lightly raced with just six starts thus far, and is still looking for her first stake win. She has two victories thus far and has turned in some decent performances after winning an allowance but will eventually start needing to improve those results. With her deep closing style, she finished fourth in the Grade 2 Appalachian, but then was only in the middle of the pack at the Grade 2 Edgewood for her last start. She’ll add more distance here, and that may serve her well with more time to run late.

#2- In Dreams (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by L Saez)- An inconsistent horse that has shown a pattern of going back and forth between good and bad starts. After finishing eighth in an optional claimer, that’s good news for TwinTowersRacing as she makes her graded debut. Does not have a lot of turf experience, and when she has, she has shown the same inconsistency. Whatever motivated the trainer to enter her here is something that is likely based on farm works. Perhaps she will surprise, but I couldn’t put virtual money on her.

#3- Undisputed (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Mb Stables liked this filly so much that he entered her in the $120.000 Flower at AQU for her racing debut! It almost paid off, too, as she ran second there, and then broke her maiden conventionally in her next start. She would not run in a stake again until her last outing, which was the Grade 3 Regret at CD, where she recorded a two-length victory. Might not win here, but this seems like the type of horse that we will be taking about a lot over the next few months.

#4- Sinister City (The Freakshow, ridden by M Franco)- It would probably be a stretch if you tried to find anything wrong with Sinister City at this point. She has consistently been able to win races, doing so seven of eleven times, and she already has three graded victories to her credit thus far. Her biggest win of the year came back in April, when she captured the $400.000 Appalachian at KEE, and if we’re going to say that every good horse will have an occasional dud, that came in the Edgewood for Sinister City. Hasn’t raced this long yet, but no one in this field has gone more than nine. Has the look of Perfect Class around this time last year.

#5- Untidy (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This will be the turf debut for Untidy, but she showed plenty of promise this spring on the main track, getting a win in the GP Oaks, and then being able to run in the KYO a month later. Technically, she finished in the middle of the field there, but was still within a length of the winner. Her only start after that came on this track in the Acorn where she was again close to the winner, but still finished midpack. It’ll be tough to run on the grass for the first time against the likes of Sinister City but will be interesting to see how she manages it.

#6- Salty Sometime Sweet (Night Rider Stables, ridden by A Cedillo)- With this one, certainly whatever has encouraged the trainer to enter her in the race isn’t in her past performances. She has only made two starts, debut last July, and being beaten handily, and then running in March and winning a maiden claimer at SA. Now, there’s nothing at all wrong with that win, but to have been on the shelf for four months after it is interesting. Perhaps it is the distance the trainer likes, but I’ll have to see it first.

#7- Bee Cyclone (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by A Jimenez)- This filly by The Dark Prince has twice over her ten starts, with both of those wins coming at GP. Most recently, she defeated State Breds in an N1X allowance, and that earned her the right to go stake racing for the first time. That happened right here at BEL for the Grade 2 Wonder Again, and it went well for her, running third. She’s only gone a mile or more twice, one of them was the Wonder Again, and the other was where she broke her maiden, so there are no concerns about the distance even with most races on her resume being sprints.

#8- Authority To Pass (Maxmillion Farm, ridden by E Jaramillo)- Maxmillion picked this one up in private sales for $75.000 in late March after a productive eight race career that saw two wins. Authority To Pass would make her first start for her new trainer last month in an CA-bred optional claimer, a race where she placed second. Now, with a little more time to get to know his horse, Maxmillion is confident to run her here in what will be her stake debut.

#9- Bombing For Peace (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by L Dettori)- We saw this one last month in the Grade 3 Regret, where she placed second to Undisputed, but was beaten by two lengths. That was notable improvement from her prior race, where she was a non-factor in the Grade 2 Appalachian. Has won three of six thus far in her career, but the side of her that showed up in the Regret will need to be here for the BEL Oaks if she wants to have a chance to beat Sinister City. Should be in the mix for a piece of this purse.

Prediction: 4-3-7-9

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES