Godolphin homebred Wet Paint rallied from last to win the $600,000 Fantasy (G3) Saturday at Oaklawn Park and will point to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) May 5 at Churchill Downs.
The Blame filly, the 3-5 favorite ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Brad Cox, won by 2 ½ lengths from 33-1 longshot Taxed while Olivia Twist, the longest shot in the 10-horse field at 50-1, finished another half length back in the third.
Off a step slow, Wet Paint raced in tenth then eighth as Grand Love set the early tempo through six furlongs. Moving up late down the backstretch, she willingly rallied to take charge in midstretch and get the win.
Wet Paint paid $3.20 after running the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.08 on a fast track and earned 100 points toward starting eligibility in the Kentucky Oaks. With 70 points prior to the Fantasy, she now sits atop the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard with 170 qualifying point.
Wet Paint, who is unbeaten in three starts this year, became just the second horse to sweep Oaklawn's a trio of Kentucky Oaks points races, winning Oaklawn's Martha Washington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 28 and the Honeybee Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 25. The only other filly was Eight Belles in 2008.
Wet Paint, who is out of the Street Cry mare Sky Painter, earned the $353,900 winner's share of the Fantasy purse, boosting her lifetime bankroll to $689,000.
Fantasy Stakes Quotes:
Winning trainer Brad Cox (trainer, Fantasy winner, Wet Paint): “I guess when you break and they (the field) kind of gets away from you a bit you're always a little concerned. But they were strung out a little bit. I saw the half in 47 (seconds) and thought she was going to be able to close into it, and she finished up well. When Flavien asked her to pick it up at the half-mile, you could tell he was riding her with a lot of confidence. At the three-eighths pole, she ranged up and was just cruising along. Very happy with how she finished up and galloped out. She ran great, won going away.”
Next stop Kentucky Oaks: “No doubt. It was five days from yesterday (Friday) as long as she comes out of it in good order, we'd expect her to. We'll get her to Churchill at some point this week and get her ready for the Oaks.”
You're loaded with 3-year-old fillies: “Yeah, we've got a good group. Obviously this filly Punch Bowl, Botanical, Flashy Gem, The Alys Look. I'm not sure they'll all run, but I think we're going to have a couple anyhow.”
Great Oaklawn meet for Wet Paint: “Really amazing. It was the week of the Martha Washington, she was a late entry. I had her on the synthetic at Turfway and she broke her maiden on a wet track at Indiana last fall. But the lack of speed she showed in her races, we wanted to get her on the grass. We thought it would put her into the race a little more. But she comes running and obviously she's able to win nice races and graded stakes and she doesn't need to be involved in the race early. Flavien came back and said, 'Wow, her turn of foot is really devastating.' She's kind of like a grass horse. When you ask her to go, she really, really accelerates.”
Jockey Rafael Bejarano, second on Taxed: “She ran really good. I was really happy. Taking off the blinkers made a big difference. He (trainer Randy Morse) worked her without blinkers the last time. I suggested that we should try her without the blinkers. She worked fine. She showed me a better kick this time and she never quit. The winner (Wet Paint) was much the best, but I think she can compete with these kinds of horses.”
Jockey David Cabrera, third on Olivia Twist: “That was a tough field, man. My horse ran a tremendous race. She broke out of there really sharp. We couldn't ask for any better position. She ran a great race. The gate crew did a tremendous job. The horse was a little restless in the gate. They took their time to back her out and put her back in. I couldn't ask for any better. We had our trip. Just got outrun.”
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