One race after rallying Fulsome from last to first in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile, jockey Florent Geroux sent Yuugiri to the front and the 3-year-old Shackleford filly never looked back en route to a neck victory over Beguine in Saturday's Grade 3, $600,000 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark.
Bubble Rock finished third, with I Feel the Need fourth and Dream Lith fifth in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies. Heartyconstitution, Mariah's Fortune and Magic Circle completed the order of finish.Eda was scratched. Time for the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track was 1:43.65 after fractions of :22.89, :46.65, 1:11.46 and 1:37.09.
Yuugiri, bred and owned by Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara and trained by Rodolphe Brisset, paid $10.20 for the win, her first stakes triumph and second win overall from five starts. She was produced from the Medaglia d'Oro mare Yuzuru.
The Fantasy is a qualifying race for the May 6 Kentucky Oaks awarding 100 points to the winner, 40 for second place, 20 for third and 10 for fourth.
Stewards posted the inquiry sign and reviewed the stretch run, with Beguine coming up the rail and having things tightened up by Yuugiri and Geroux. Yuugiri drifted in slightly and Beguine came out under left-handed urging from Francisco Arrieta. Stewards ruled no change.
Yuugiri won her debut by 7 1/4 lengths sprinting six furlongs last September at Churchill Downs, then finished second twice and third once when stretched out to two turns in stakes competition. “I was going to cut her back to one turn, but may rethink that,” Brisset told TVG's Caton Bredar after the win.
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