Ashland – G1
$750.000 For Fillies Three Years Old
1 1/16 Miles – Dirt
Keeneland – April 3, 2026

When the G1 Ashland is run on Friday only 4 weeks will be remaining until the Kentucky Oaks is run at Churchill Downs on the first of May. This year will mark the twenty-second running of the race and in the twenty-one previous runnings, four of the Ashland winners have followed up by taking the Oaks. That means that the winner of this year’s Ashland will have a 20% chance of being the 2026 winner of the “Lilies for the Fillies”. It doesn’t quite work that way, but you get the idea. This is an important and prestigious prep race, and the winner has to be considered a major Oaks threat in four week’s time. 

The four fillies that have accomplished the Ashland/Oaks double:

Just Too Blue (Serenity Stables 2007), Stella Artois (Pan Farms 2013), Tenrikyo (Smokey Stover 2019) and Bite The Bullet (Mb Stables 2020).

This year eight fillies have been named to go to the gate for the Ashland. As of this writing no HRP forecast was available but real-world data indicates that there is at least a 50% chance we could see a wet track for the following contenders:

1. Shogun X (Serenity Stables/F. Pennington) Purchased privately just days ago for $350.000. She has won twice and has not been seen in competition since racing at the Fairgrounds on New Years Day. She finished second that day in a MSW which means, yes, she is still a maiden. The purchase price gives indications of how highly regarded she is by the new barn and she gets an inside draw but she has to step up several notches.

2. Rock Steady (Our Athletes/V. Espinoza) She was a stakes winner as a two-year-old and was purchased in the December auction for $185.990. She has made two starts for her new barn and has yet to hit the board. She finished sixth in the G3 Santa Ysabel a few weeks ago and is another who will need to demonstrate improved form. 

3. Shes Complicated (TwinTowersRacing/M. Franco) Lightly raced filly who was also acquired in the December auction when TwinTowersRacing paid $79.980 for her as an unraced two-year-old. She has raced three times this year for her new connections, and she broke her maiden in her second start and then followed that up with a third place in the VA Oaks. Seems to have some talent but faces a tough group. 

4. Something Aint Right (Alydar Stables/R. Bejarano) Currently stands thirty-fifth in Oaks qualifying with 16 points. Purchased for $400.000 at the beginning of February. She has made one start for Alydar Stables when she finished a fast closing fourth in the G2 Davona Dale. She gets a little bit more ground to close into today along with a smaller field to navigate through if she employs the same tactics. Contender. Currently stands thirty-fifth in Oaks qualifying with 16 points. 

5. Wants It All (Mo Mentum Farms/J.R. Velasquez) Last year’s two-year-old champ and winner of the G1 Juvenile Fillies seemed like a lock to be in the gate for KY Oaks but a disastrous run in last week’s G2 Fantasy that saw her finish sixth and left her on the bubble. A concern would have to be the quick turnaround, but she has had a light campaign this year so might rebound and even benefit from the race. Currently stands sixteenth in Oaks qualifying with 47 points. 

6. State Title (Mb Stables/L. Dettori) Is a stakes winner and graded stakes placed having finished second in last November’s G1 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf. She finished a closing fourth in the G3 FL Oaks and then was purchased privately a few days later for $350.00. Mb Stables immediately gives her a shot in a G1 race with potential to qualify for the Oaks, so you have to take that confidence in consideration when assessing her chances. For those who might not be sure how to weigh that, it’s a positive. 

7. Fire Missle (Mb Stables/I. Ortiz Jr.) The second entry from Mb Stables has run in four straight stakes races since breaking her maiden last October at Churchill Downs. She has yet to hit the board in any of those stakes tries so I have to consider State Title the more dangerous of the stablemates. Currently stands seventy-ninth in Oaks qualifying with 1 point. 

8. Starlit Venture (Mo Mentum Farms/A. Fresu) Stablemate of Wants It All draws the outside gate. She was claimed for $50.000 in February and has raced twice since with her last race being a sixth-place finish in the G2 FG Oaks. Her career highlight was a third-place finish in the G1 Alcibiades last October which is where her Oaks qualifying points come from. The bad news is that she has not replicated that kind of form since. The good news is that her G1 placing came on the Keeneland track so maybe that will wake her up. Currently stands sixty-sixth in Oaks qualifying with 3 points. 

There is a lot at stake in terms of a large purse and Oaks qualifying points but there is really no standout in recent form so this race provides a great opportunity for all eight fillies. I have to throw out the awful race at Oaklawn Park last week for Wants It All and give her another shot to show the kind of form we have some to expect from her. Behind her I consider Something Aint Right her main challenger with Rock Steady and State Title right behind.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES