Kentucky Belle gets up in time to take the Saratoga Oaks, NYRA Photo
Mary Eddy
WinStar Farm’s Kentucky homebred Kentucky Belle entered Friday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks from a nearly four-month respite, but showed no signs of rust as she ran down the favored Faithful Departed to post a 10-1 upset in the 1 3/16-mile Mellon turf route for sophomore fillies at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox, the daughter of Justify won by a nose over returning rival Bless Her going this distance in April at Keeneland in her most recent outing, and has never been off-the-board in six lifetime efforts. The Saratoga Oaks marked the first stakes win for Kentucky Belle in her first attempt, and the first win in this event for Cox and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who provided a perfectly-timed ride atop the talented dark bay.
“We missed a little time with her, but it was worth the wait,” Cox said of the layoff. “She ran big, obviously. It looked like she was traveling really well going into the far turn, and turning for home, I was like, ‘this should work out, we’re going to get some graded placing here.’ She was able to get there, needed pretty much all of the mile and three sixteenths. I’ve always felt this was going to be her thing.”
Kentucky Belle was unhurried from the inside post in the field of eight as Code broke a step slow and sprinted up to the front to lead through the first turn with Just Aloof just off her flank through the opening quarter-mile in 23.85 seconds over the firm footing.
The field raced in an orderly line down the backstretch with Kentucky Belle at the back and to the inside of Consensus View while Code reached the half-mile in 48.99 and three-quarters in 1:13.43. Ortiz, Jr.’s brother, Jose Ortiz, made his move atop Faithful Departed in the turn, pouncing from sixth with a wide move to loom large at the head of the lane as Ortiz, Jr. angled Kentucky Belle out to follow their run.
Faithful Departed took a narrow lead from the backpedaling Code straightening for home while Fitz Right threw her hat in the ring with a surge up the rail through the mile in 1:37.12. Despite the other two foes getting the jump on Kentucky Belle, Ortiz, Jr. went to a right-handed crop in mid-stretch and the filly responded with a determined run down the center of the course, inching up on the outside of Faithful Departed to get her head down first in a final time of 1:53.80.
Faithful Departed held second by 1 1/4 lengths over Fitz Right, and Bless Her completed the superfecta with Imaginationthelady, Consensus View, Just Aloof and Code following them home.
Ortiz, Jr. said the decision to follow the run of his brother proved the winning move.
“I was traveling so good. I tracked [Jose]. I knew he was going to finish. To the three-eighths pole, Jose’s waiting, and I’m right behind him, and at the quarter-pole he started making his move,” Ortiz, Jr. explained. “I [went] with him and my filly stayed in contact with him, and when we turned for home, she exploded. She gave me a good kick, good turn of foot. That was a good feeling, honestly. She closed. She ran her down because she was running. I don’t know how fast we closed, but that was fast.”
Ortiz was surprised the Grant Forster-trained Faithful Departed got nailed late, but praised the effort from the daughter of Yoshida, who also finished second last out in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks on July 4 here.
“She ran a very big race and a fast time,” Ortiz said. “I don’t know how she got caught. She never slowed down from the quarter-pole to the wire and she was giving me everything she had. We were just a little unlucky we got run down today. She’s doing great and improving and we were very happy with her. She shows up and that’s what matters.”
Kentucky Belle is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Dancing Fancy, a daughter of Canadian Hall of Famer and 2001 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Dancethruthedawn. Her royal lineage goes back to Reine-de-Course broodmare and Canadian Triple Crown-winner Dance Smartly, who is enshrined in both the American and Canadian Halls of Fame.
Cox added that Kentucky Belle may be pointed to the Grade 3, $2 million [$1 million KTDF] Dueling Grounds Oaks on September 9 at Kentucky Downs, a race he won last year with Grade 1 Belmont Oaks-winner Fionn.
“That’d be the race we’d look at,” he said. “We ran Fionn in there last year, and I think this horse should be able to handle the distance and hopefully able to handle Kentucky Downs, you never know. We’ll see.”
Kentucky Belle banked $275,000 in victory while returning $23.20 on a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with a lucrative 14-race card headlined by the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney [Race 12], which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic in October at Keeneland. The stacked program offers three additional Grade 1 events in the $750,000 Fourstardave [Race 10] – a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile – the $750,000 Saratoga Derby presented by Qatar Racing [Race 11] and the $500,000 Test presented by Ticketmaster [Race 9]. First post is 11:45 a.m. Eastern.
The Whitney will be broadcast to a national audience on FOX as part of a two-hour edition of FOX Saratoga Saturday, which will begin at 5 p.m. Eastern. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
