“Pace makes the race.”
So said jockey Jose Ortiz, who figured going into Friday's Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., that the early fractions were going to be fast.
Aboard Juddmonte Farms homebred Obligatory in the seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies, Ortiz could see all but one of the 12 runners ahead of him as the field rounded the turn into the stretch.
But, as Ortiz surmised, the pace was fast: 21.89 for the opening quarter mile and :44.46 for the half mile. Dayoutoftheoffice – the 3-1 favorite making her first start since finishing second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last Nov. 6 at Keeneland – had chased the early leaders and was moving to the lead with just under a quarter mile to go.
The Into Mischief filly looked home free after six furlongs in 1:09.16, but a gray blur on the outside in the form of Obligatory – a daughter of Curlin – was closing relentlessly. She seized command in the final sixteenth and drew off to win by a length. Time for the seven furlongs on a fast track was 1:21.89.
Dayoutoftheoffice finished second, with Make Mischief 1 3/4 lengths back in third and Souper Sensational fourth. She was followed by Abrogate, Li'l Tootsie, Caramel Swirl, Slumber Party, Cantata, Euphoric and Windmill. Kalypso, according to the Equibase chart, bled and was eased in the stretch.
Obligatory, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who was winning the Eight Belles for the third time, paid $35 for the upset.
Longshot Euphoric jumped out to the early lead, with Windmill breathing down her neck in the long run down the backstretch. Dayoutoftheoffice raced in third, three wide, just behind the leading pair. Ortiz allowed Obligatory to trail the field.
Jockey Gerardo Corrales made his move to the lead on Dayoutoftheoffice as the top pair began to fade, opening a 2 1/2-length advantage with a furlong to run. But his filly was not able to hold off the late-running winner.
“She ran her heart out,” said Corrales. “I thought my filly was in a good position turning for home but could not hold off the winner.”
“They were going very fast,” said Ortiz. “It looked on paper, too, before the race they were gonna go pretty fast. I just tried to sit chilly and make one run on her. That's what I did and she gave it to me. The pace makes the race.”
Obligatory was coming off a fourth-place finish going two turns in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 20, and Ortiz thinks the cutback in distance also helped the filly. Plus, he pointed out, the top two finishers that day – Travel Column and Clairiere – were two top-class fillies who would be competing later Friday in the Kentucky Oaks.
The Eight Belles was Obligatory's second win in four starts and first in a stakes. She left the maiden ranks in her second start going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 7.
“I think she was a little confused when she ran two turns in New Orleans (Fair Grounds Oaks),” said Mott. “She ran a very big effort at Gulfstream, had a little trouble, had to check coming around, you could see visually it was a very good effort. We thought she was good enough to go to the Fair Grounds Oaks, I think she's good enough, but she's green and the two turns confused the heck out of her. Maybe we could find out down the road that she's a better one-turn horse. I think five weeks away, they run the Acorn. I have no reason to believe she can't get a mile. And sometimes the two-turn deal could be a greenness thing. The pace today turned out good. We both knew there was a tremendous amount of speed in the race. She was able to close into it. She had a good kick. You just hope it didn't take too much out of her, she got the win and I think she earned a ticket into a good race like the Acorn.”
Trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jose Ortiz fist bump after the Eight Belles win by Obligatory
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