Fantasy S. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Angel of Empire On To Kentucky After Big Saturday For Brad Cox

Brad Cox saddled a trio of winners Saturday at Oaklawn with Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) taking the day's biggest prize in the GI Arkansas Derby. He also won the GIII Fantasy Stakes for 3-year-old fillies with heavily-favored Wet Paint (Blame) and the Hot Springs S. with Eyeing Clover (Lookin At Lucky).

“It was a great day,” Cox said during training hours Sunday morning at Oaklawn. “It was good. Big performance from that colt yesterday, Angel of Empire. We'll load him on Tuesday and ship to Kentucky and see what we can come up with.”

Ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, Angel of Empire powered to a 4 1/4-length victory over longshot King Russell (Creative Cause) before an estimated crowd of 65,000.

“I've said it several times,” Cox said. “He's a horse we thought would get better with time and, obviously, age as well. And you know, he's obviously gotten better throughout the winter and he looks amazing. I think distance is probably an equalizer. He's not blessed with a tremendous amount of speed. He just kind of breaks. And he's not void of speed, but he kind of finds his way and they get away from him a little bit. But he settles. He's a very smart horse. Probably the biggest thing with him. Pretty big crowd here. There was a lot of noise in the paddock. Stands there and really presented himself well yesterday in the paddock and in the infield when we legged the riders up. He was on his toes, but he wasn't hot at all. He was feeling good. You could tell he was ready to run. Loved how he was acting mentally.”

Angel of Empire's eventual winning margin, 2 1/2 lengths in mid-stretch, ballooned in the run to the wire.

“Even in the gallop out, they weren't close to him,” Cox said. “Flavien had never sat on him and he came back said, 'Wow! This horse, the further, the better.'”

Angel of Empire collected 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his Arkansas Derby victory, which pushed his overall total to 154, good enough for second on the leaderboard.

Cox said he doesn't have a jockey commitment yet for the Kentucky Derby.

“They'll sort themselves out over the next several weeks, between the Blue Grass, Wood and Santa Anita Derby,” Cox said. “We'll see what happens.”

Cox also notched his second career victory in the 1 1/16-mile GIII Fantasy S. with Wet Paint, a homebred who races for her breeder, Godolphin. Last of 10 early, Wet Paint rolled to a 2 1/2-length victory over Taxed (Collected) to become only the second filly behind Eight Belles to sweep what are now Oaklawn's three Kentucky Oaks points races. Wet Paint also won the Martha Washington S. Jan. 28 and the GIII Honeybee Stakes Feb. 25. Saturday's race marked the filly's first try around two turns over a fast track after catching off tracks in both the Martha Washington and the Honeybee.

“Listen, we don't know until we try,” Cox said. “We didn't know until we ran yesterday. But her works here have been awfully good on dry tracks, so I felt pretty confident we'd get a big run from her as long as we got pace to run at. We got it. She's definitely one of the top fillies in the country.”

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From Last to First, Blame’s Wet Paint Takes the Fantasy

It's hard to fault Wet Paint (f, 3, Blame–Sky Painter, by Street Cry {Ire}), who can win on wet or dry, has improved with each start, looks to like a distance, is unbeaten on dirt, and has been unstoppable in Oaklawn Park's 3-year-old filly series, with her latest conquest Saturday's GIII Fantasy S. in Hot Springs. The late-running Godolphin homebred won her third straight as she marches to the GI Kentucky Oaks as the current points leader with 170. The Fantasy divvied up points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with a scale of 100-40-30-20-10, also giving Taxed (Collected) and Olivia Twist (Mshawish), who chased Wet Paint home in second and third, respectively, a potential spot in the Oaks gate May 5.

Winning trainer Brad Cox won the Oaks in 2018 with Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and again in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil).

The 3-5 heavy favorite in the Fantasy, Wet Paint trailed far back–at least a dozen lengths–early as 5-1 Grand Love (Gun Runner) led with her ears pricked through :22.98 and :47.08 fractions. Roused entering the turn, Wet Paint swept around the field with ease and loomed menacingly as Grand Love was swamped in mid-stretch. Under minimal encouragement, Wet Paint flew by at least five wide as Taxed and Olivia Twist picked up the leftovers to her inside. Wrapped up on at the end, Wet Paint won far easier than the 2 1/2-length margin would suggest. She was Cox's second Fantasy winner following Sassy Sienna (Midshipman) in 2018 and Godolphin's first.

“I guess when you break and they kind of get away from you a bit you're always a little concerned,” said Cox. “But they were strung out a little bit. I saw the half in 47 and thought she was going to be able to close into it, and she finished up well. When Flavien [Prat] 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.”

Wet Paint has never been beaten on dirt. She broke her maiden at second asking at Horseshoe Indianapolis last October and captured both the Jan. 28 Martha Washington S. and the Feb. 25 GIII Honeybee S. at Oaklawn this year, the latter two with twin 83 Beyer Speed Figures. Her only career losses came on debut on the Kentucky Downs grass and a December start in an optional allowance on Turfway's synthetic surface. All three of her previous main track starts were in the slop or on a wet-fast track, making the Fantasy, contested on a dry and fast track, an important test. She passed.

Cox said Wet Paint would likely ship to Churchill Downs this week to prepare for the Oaks.

Pedigree Notes:

Claiborne's Blame, the most established sire son of Claiborne's late Arch, has 45 black-type winners, including 21 graded winners. Wet Paint isn't the first of Blame's progeny to star as a sophomore at Oaklawn–his son, Nadal, won a division of the GI Arkansas Derby and GII Rebel S. in 2020 and now stands in Japan. Wet Paint is Blame's first stakes winner out of a Street Cry (Ire) mare, the latter having 135 black-type winners out of his daughters. The late Street Cry stood at Darley, the flagship U.S. farm of Godolphin.

Wet Paint is out of Sky Painter, second in Belmont's GIII Miss Grillo S. in 2013 and, like her daughter, a homebred for Godolphin. The Fantasy winner's fourth dam is Nastique (Naskra), a four-time Grade I winner and a multiple stakes producer. Sky Painter has a yearling filly by Darley stallion Medaglia d'Oro and was bred back to Not This Time for this spring.

Saturday, Oaklawn Park
FANTASY S.-GIII, $600,000, Oaklawn, 4-1, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.08, ft.
1–WET PAINT, 122, f, 3, by Blame
          1st Dam: Sky Painter (GSP, $169,755), by Street Cry (Ire)
          2nd Dam: Skylighter, by Sky Mesa
          3rd Dam: Painted Lady, by Broad Brush
O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $354,900.
Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-0, $689,000. Werk Nick
Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click
for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Taxed, 119, f, 3, Collected–Yankee Union, by Yankee
Gentleman. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($27,000 Ylg '21
KEESEP; $105,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR). O-Richard Bahde;
B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Randy L. Morse. $109,200.
3–Olivia Twist, 122, f, 3, Mshawish–Twinkling, by War Chant.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($20,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $230,000
2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Brad King, Randy Andrews, G. Chris
Coleman, Jim Cone, Suzanne Kirby and Lee Lewis; B-Brushy
Hill, LLC (KY); T-Todd W. Fincher. $54,600.
Margins: 2HF, HF, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.60, 33.10, 50.00.
Also Ran: Condensation, Grand Love, Pate, Towhead,
Take Charge Briana, Royal Spa, She's Lookin Lucky.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.
VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Reincarnate Named 5-2 Morning-Line Favorite For Arkansas Derby

Entries were drawn Sunday morning for next Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby and GIII Fantasy S., with Tim Yakteen's Reincarnate (Good Magic) and Wet Paint (Blame) for Brad Cox taking on the roles of morning-line favoritism at 5-2 and 8-5 respectively. Reincarnate drew the eight position with second choice Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) inside of him in gate six. Wet Paint also drew the six slot.

Making his first start for Yakteen since switching from the Bob Baffert barn, Reincarnate won the GIII Sham S. at Santa Anita Jan. 8 and was third behind Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GII Rebel S. last time out.

Wet Paint currently sits third on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and enters on a two-race win streak with victories in the Martha Washington S. and the GIII Honeybee S.

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Shackleford Filly Game as they Get in Fantasy

Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara's Yuugiri (Shackleford) looked in all sorts of bother as she was besieged from either side with time ticking away in Saturday's GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn Park, but she refused to lay down and battled her way to a neck defeat of Beguine (Gun Runner). Second choice Bubble Rock (More Than Ready) was third in her first try on a conventional dirt surface.

Quickly into stride from gate six, Yuugiri won the race into the first turn and set the pace from the two path, with Bubble Rock chasing from second and Beguine monitoring proceedings from the box seat in third. That trio would have the race to themselves, as it would happen. Yuugiri did it well on the engine and went along comfortably, sharp though the fractions were. On a long rein with Bubble Rock stalking her wherever she went and Beguine still traveling strongly, Yuugiri was shaken up 2 1/2 furlongs from home, but appeared to be going better than Bubble Rock to her outside. In the meantime, Beguine emerged as the more serious danger at the fence and was within a head as they entered the final eighth of a mile. But the pacesetter maintained a slender advantage as the duo came together late and proved a most determined winner. Stewards launched an inquiry into the final stages, but ultimately allowed the result to stand.

“That was really not the initial plan (go to the lead), but she broke so sharp,” said winning trainer Rodolphe Brisset. “[Jockey Florent Geroux] did good to just go with the flow. The fractions were pretty fast. It's very demanding to go to the wire, going :46 and change, and she did it. It's a fun one.”

A romping 7 1/4-length debut maiden winner at Churchill Downs Sept. 17, Yuugiri was a distant runner-up in the Oct. 31 Rags To Riches S. and filled the same spot when beaten a length by Fantasy favorite Dream Lith (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GII Golden Rod S. Nov. 27. She raced prominently in the GIII Honeybee S. in her sophomore debut Feb. 26 but weakened late to be third behind leading local lady Secret Oath (Arrogate) in an effort she was likely to be in need of and sure to come on for.

Pedigree Notes:

Yuugiri is the 19th stakes winner and seventh winner at the graded level for GI Preakness S. winner Shackleford, who was sold to Korean interests to continue his stallion career in that country in 2020.

The winner's dam was campaigned by Sekie and Tsunebumi Yoshihara to a victory for trainer Michael Matz in the grassy Forever Together S. and Yuugiri is her only winner from two of racing age. Yuzuru is a half-sister to the Winchester Farm-bred Nokaze (Empire Maker), the dam of Japanese Group 2 winner Air Almas (Majestic Warrior), Japanese stakes winner Air Fanditha (Hat Trick {Jpn}) and the promising Air Sage (Point of Entry), winner of three of six starts on the demanding JRA circuit. The Yoshiharas campaign those horses in Japan under the banner of Lucky Field, the literal translation of Yoshihara. Lucky Field has also raced 1997 Tenno Sho hero Air Groove (Jpn) (Tony Bin {Ire}) and MGSW/MG1SP Air Spinel (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}).

Yuzuru is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Air Force Blue that has already been exported to Japan as well as a yearling colt by Nyquist. She was most recently bred to American Pharoah.

FANTASY S.-GIII, $600,000, Oaklawn, 4-2, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.65, ft.
1–YUUGIRI, 119, f, 3, by Shackleford
                1st Dam: Yuzuru (SW, $105,759), by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Macarena Macarena, by Gone West
                3rd Dam: Angelic Song, by Halo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Sekie & Tsunebumi Yoshihara (KY); T-Rodolphe Brisset; J-Florent Geroux. $360,000. Lifetime Record: MGSP, 5-2-2-1, $543,610. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Beguine, 119, f, 3, Gun Runner–Shananies Song, by Eltish. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($235,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $340,000 RNA 2yo '21 FTFMAR). O/B-Charles T. Matses; T-Daniel C. Peitz. $120,000.
3–Bubble Rock, 122, f, 3, More Than Ready–Reef Point, by Giant's Causeway. O/B-Shortleaf Stable, Inc.; T-Brad H. Cox. $60,000.
Margins: NK, 3, 2. Odds: 4.10, 11.30, 3.20.
Also Ran: I Feel the Need, Dream Lith, Heartyconstitution, Mariah's Fortune, Magic Circle. Scratched: Eda.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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