“I got a good trip,' jockey Flavien Prat said of Wet Paint. Neither horse was a factor entering the backstretch, though Wet Paint recovered to get near the leaders at the stretch. Those more-heralded fillies both had 3-0 starts this season quashed as Botanical finished 13th. That quest must wait until next May, though Cox has four chances to win his first Derby outright with Angel of Empire the 8-1 third choice. Wet Paint and 4-1 second choice Botanical were among a trio of fillies trained by Louisville-born Brad Cox, who sought his third Oaks win since 2018 and first since 2020 with Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old. Godolphin had two Oaks entries, though much of the attention was focused on Wet Paint, the 5-2 morning line favorite and The Alys Look's stablemate. 'Two more jumps and we would have got it.” “We just missed,” said Irad Ortiz Jr., Gambling Girl's rider. Gambling Girl returned $12.84 and $8.36, while The Alys Look paid $13.80 while finishing 2 1/2 lengths back in third. But the addition of blinkers, I think, helped with that.” She did the same thing a little bit today.

She has a tendency to kind of wait on horses. “She probably was the best horse in our last race. “We had a lot of confidence in her,” said Gaffalione, who earned his first Oaks victory along with Walsh. Pretty Mischievous covered 1 1/8 mile in 1:49.77 under jockey Tyler Gaffalione and paid $22.74, $10.10 and $7.40.

And so to be able to win that just means everything.” “But to me, there’s only the one classic for fillies in the U.S. “I think we are reaping the rewards with the horses we’ve had over the last couple of years. “Sheikh Mohammed has developed a beautiful broodmare band here in the U.S.,” said Michael Banahan, bloodstock director for Godolphin.

He's winless in 12 Kentucky Derby starts since 1999 and doesn’t have a colt in Saturday’s 149th Run for the Roses, though Essential Quality finished third in 2021 as the race favorite.Īs he pursues his ultimate prize, Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin can savor a breakthrough in the Oaks. Most appreciative was owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. Pretty Mischievous broke clear entering the stretch and kept charging even as Gambling Girl rallied from the outside, holding on for her fifth career win in seven starts and giving stable Godolphin its first win in the premier race for 3-year-old fillies. 14 outside post at 10-1 odds and stayed within sight of pacesetters Flying Connection and Defining Purpose through the far turn before making her move through the turn for home.

I Saw You First by Darien Cox