Richard Perkins' homebred Oeuvre grabbed the lead nearing the sixteenths pole and held back the determined rally from runner-up Portilla to capture the $100,000 Pan Zareta Stakes Saturday at Fair Grounds.
Ridden by Jareth Loveberry for trainer Chris Block, the Illinois-bred Shackleford filly won by three-quarters of a length while completing 5 ½ furlongs in 1:04.86 on a track rated as fast.
Portilla, who was last of seven through the early stages, held on for second, a neck to the good of third-place finisher Perfect Happiness, who set the pace to early stretch but could not keep pace with the top two.
Oeuvre returned $5.60 at the 9-5 favorite.
The victory marked a third consecutive win for the 3-year-old Oeuvre and second straight in a stakes following her win in the Powerless October 22 at Hawthorne.
Oeuvre has displayed her talents this year by winning on dirt and turf, demonstrating her tactical versatility, and traveling to multiple tracks.
She began her 2022 campaign in May with an open-length state bred allowance victory going six furlongs on Hawthorne's dirt track. From there she won five out of her next six outings while moving through her conditions, including a turf sprint win at Colonial Downs in Virginia.
Oeuvre's lone loss rom eight starts this year came in her third-place finish in the listed Music City at Kentucky Downs in her start prior to the Powerless.
Overall, Oeuvre has an 8-3-2 record from 14 lifetime starts. The $60,000 winner's share of the Pan Zareta purse boosted her lifetime earnings to $353,126.
Oeuvre's dam is the Kitten's Joy mare Love This Kitten.
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