Paradise Woods, Miss Sky Warrior impress in final Kentucky Oaks preps

The past two weeks has seen a flurry of activity as sophomore fillies try to earn enough points to make the 14-horse restricted Kentucky Oaks (G1) field.

The Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races concluded on Friday, April 14, but not without some last minute fireworks and a newcomer who put the division on notice.

Of the final five races in the series, only two were won by favorites. But the biggest upset came in the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 8. That 1 1/16-mile affair was captured by SAILOR’S VALENTINE, the 22-1 second longest shot on the board.

The gray daughter of Mizzen Mast raced just off the flank of pacesetter Someday Soon until hitting the turn of the Ashland. That’s when jockey Corey Lanerie gave Sailor’s Valentine her cue and the filly moved up to challenge. Someday Soon wouldn’t back down, though, and it took until midstretch for Sailor’s Valentine to wrest control away from the leader.

The Eddie Kenneally pupil paid $46.40 for her first stakes win and earned 100 points to the Kentucky Oaks on May 5. However, even a duplicate of her Ashland effort probably won’t be enough to win the Run for the Lilies, and Sailor’s Valentine may just like Keeneland. Her only other win came when she broke her maiden at the Lexington, Kentucky, venue by 3 1/4 lengths in her debut last October.

One who could be a threat in the Kentucky Oaks is Daddys Lil Darling. The bay lass settled near the rear of the field around the first turn and on the backstretch, angled out and then back in on the turn, came out four wide in the lane and flew home to just miss by a half-length on the wire.

Daddys Lil Darling is trained by Kenny McPeek and has already proven herself at Churchill Downs. She took the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) last fall and was even second, though well-beaten, to Farrell in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2). Her only other run this year came when she made her seasonal debut in the March 11 Florida Oaks (G3) on Tampa Bay Downs’ grass. The Scat Daddy filly is in the Kentucky Oaks field, sitting pretty in ninth with 60 total points, and may have saved her best for the big day.

The upsetter and the newcomer came back-to-back on April 8, as PARADISE WOODS schooled six rivals in the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) under jockey Flavien Prat.

Trained by Richard Mandella of Beholder fame, Paradise Woods took command of the race from the start and never looked back. The Union Rags filly galloped down the backstretch and only seemed to hit full stride when Prat urged her on exiting the turn. She immediately responded, opening up in a flash and pulling away to record an 11 3/4-length victory in her stakes debut and third career start.

Paradise Woods previously broke her maiden by 4 1/4 lengths on March 11 at Santa Anita Park going 5 1/2 furlongs, and was second in a six-furlong maiden to kick off her career on January 26. She easily handled the stretch out to 1 1/16 miles in the Santa Anita Oaks, earning an excellent 110 BRIS Speed rating for the win.

The Santa Anita Oaks was supposed to be Abel Tasman’s time to shine. With Unique Bella sidelined, the Bob Baffert trainee was sent off the 4-5 favorite, but no one had expected Paradise Woods. Abel Tasman was easily best of the rest, despite probably running more ground than anyone, including Paradise Woods. She broke in last and settled well back at first, made up ground down the backstretch while five wide, faded all the to the back again nearing the turn, then swung widest of all and rallied down the center of the track to be 2 1/4 lengths clear of third.

Though she didn’t win, Abel Tasman ran well in defeat and may have set herself up for an even better effort in the Kentucky Oaks. She’s eighth on the Leaderboard with 70 points.