Blind Luck has a ways to go before matching the accomplishments
of racings finest fillies.
Her stretch run in the Fantasy Stakes was a good start.
Blind Luck overtook Tidal Pool with an impressive final surge
Friday at Oaklawn Park, winning by 2 1/2 lengths in the same race
that featured Rachel Alexandra and Eight Belles the last two years.
Those fillies later ran in Triple Crown races, but thats not on
the agenda for Blind Luck just yet. Shell be pointed to the
Kentucky Oaks instead of the Kentucky Derby.
“The Oaks has been our target, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer
said. “If I can get that, then Ill worry about everything else
later on.
Blind Luck, with Rafael Bejarano aboard, finished the $300,000
Fantasy in 1:42.56 and paid $3 and $2.20. She won for the sixth
time in nine career starts and the first time on a non-synthetic
surface since June.
Despite saving ground on the rail, jockey Calvin Borel and Tidal
Pool werent able to hold on in the 1 1-16-mile race for 3-year-old
fillies.
“We had no problems and my filly really ran well, Borel said.
“You will hear more from her. This fillys time will come and she
is going to win some big races.
The 1-2 favorite, Blind Luck trailed the other three horses in
the field heading into the final turn. Running to the outside of
the others, she moved into second place and finally passed Tidal
Pool.
“The first part was a little slower than I thought it would be,
but we really picked things up and it finished a very fast race,
Bejarano said. “I was right where I wanted to be and once we got
in the lane, the way my filly was closing, I really felt
confident.
Tidal Pool (3-1) made a gallant effort but was second best for
trainer D. Wayne Lukas. No Such Word (9-2) was third, 9 lengths
behind the winner.
“This was a small field, but a tough one, said Terry
Thompson, No Such Words jockey. “Each quarter seemed to get
faster. My filly gave her best, but the top pair got away from
us.
The small field has become the norm for this race recently.
Rachel Alexandra won easily in a five-horse group last year, and
only three competitors bothered to oppose Eight Belles when she won
it in 2008.
Rachel Alexandra went on to win the Preakness en route to Horse
of the Year honors, and Eight Belles was second in the Kentucky
Derby in 2008, although she was euthanized following the race in a
heartbreaking scene after breaking down.
Some of racings best horses have prepared for the Triple Crown
races at Oaklawn, including Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex and Curlin.
Those horses all won the Arkansas Derby, which is considered the
seasons highlight and this tracks biggest Kentucky Derby
prep.
But Rachel Alexandra and Eight Belles have given the Fantasy
some prestige, and you can never count out the fillies in the
Triple Crown races. In addition to Rachel Alexandras triumph last
year, Rags to Riches won the 2007 Belmont.
Hollendorfer, however, will stay focused on the Kentucky Oaks.
His horse will definitely be considered a favorite after this
performance, her third win in four races. She has finished in the
top three in every race of her career.
“Im happy that she showed that turn of foot on the dirt,
Hollendorfer said.
Friday was the first day of Oaklawns season-ending Racing
Festival of the South, which concludes April 10 with the Arkansas
Derby. It also includes the Apple Blossom on April 9. That race was
supposed to feature a tantalizing matchup between Rachel Alexandra
and unbeaten Zenyatta, but only the latter is now expected to
run.