Three-year-old fillies go in the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga
By NY Hot List staff | Friday, July 21, 2023
The Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on Saturday drew a field of six 3-year-old fillies that will go 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Wet Paint from the barn of Brad Cox was named the 2-1 morning line favorite based on her 2023 campaign where amongst other things she won three stakes from five starts with earnings of $747,775.
In her most recent start in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Ellis Park, Wet Paint was second as the odds-on favorite behind Hoosier Philly.
“Her last run was really good,” said Cox. “It wasn’t a graded stake but it was a very good filly that won it and we didn’t have much chance with no pace and the way the track was playing. I’m totally looking forward to her moving forward off that race.”
Todd Pletcher, who won the CCA Oaks eight times, will send Gambling Girl to the post in her first start since losing the Kentucky Oaks by only a neck.
“We were cautiously optimistic going into the Oaks because she had trained so well once we got to Churchill,” said Pletcher. “She always trained really well, but it seemed like she took her game to another level when she got to Churchill. She made a pretty good run at winning it and came up a couple strides short.”
The CCA OAKS is scheduled as race 9 out of 11 with post-time set for 5:42 p.m. EDT.
The $500,000 CCA Oaks (G1) at Saratoga, Saturday, Race 11.
(5) Hoosier Philly has regained the excellent form that she had as a 2-year-old when she won her first three starts. She got loose on the lead and won the Monomoy Girl at Ellis Park last month and is likely to get the lead easily again in this small field that lacks other frontrunners. (4) Gambling Girl missed winning the Kentucky Oaks by a neck in her last start for Todd Pletcher. The NY-bred has been racing in open company stakes. (2) Wet Paint won three stakes races in a row at Oaklawn Park and then was fourth in the Ky. Oaks and second in the Monomoy Girl. The Oaklawn form has not held up well at other tracks. (1) Southlawn won her first two starts of 2023 at Fair Grounds including the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) but at 5-1 she was 10th in the Ky. Oaks. She has been off since then making you think that something went wrong in Kentucky.
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