Ike and Dawn Thrash's Turnerloose moved to the top of the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard on Saturday with a 17-1 upset of the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. Ridden by Florent Geroux for trainer Brad Cox, the 3-year-old filly by Nyquist earned 50 qualifying points for the G1 Kentucky Oaks, assuring her a spot in the Lillies for the Fillies race on May 6 at Churchill Downs.
Turnerloose closed from just off the pace to win by a half length, with Goddess of Fire second, Awake At Midnyte third and 2-1 favorite Hidden Connection fourth in the field of 11. The second, third and fourth finishers received 20-10-5 qualifying Kentucky Oaks points.
Following the top four across the wire were Miss Mattie B, Dream Lith, North County, Candy Raid, Divine Huntress, California Angel and La Crete.
Updated Kentucky Derby/Oaks leaderboard
Time for the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track was 1:44.22 after fractions of :23.94, :48.18, 1:13.07 and 1:27.86. Turnerloose paid $37 on a $2 win bet.
Stonestreet Stables LLC's previously unbeaten La Crete led early but was expertly pulled up midway down the backstretch by jockey Joel Rosario and was vanned off in the equine ambulance.
A Tweet from Stonestreet updated her condition.
La Crete is comfortable and weight bearing. She has a condylar fracture that is a good candidate for repair. She will be monitored through the night and we will update tomorrow. #GirlsinGold
— Stonestreet (@StonestreetFarm) February 20, 2022
Turnerloose, bred in Kentucky by William Humphries and Altair Farms LLC, was produced from Goaltending, a daughter of A.P. Indy. She was purchased by the Thrashes for $50,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment.
The Rachel Alexandra was the first dirt race for Turnerloose, who won her first two starts at two at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs, then was third, beaten a neck by California Angel, in the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland. She closed out her juvenile campaign with a last-place finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf won by Pizza Bianca.
“To be honest I didn't know if she could handle the dirt,” said after Turnerloose's victory. “She worked well enough last fall. I gave her a little bit of a break. She worked well enough here at Fair Grounds. She tries hard. Always tries hard. We saw a better version of her today than we did in California (at the Breeders' Cup).”
Cox said the “two logical spots” for the filly's next start are either the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks on March 26 or the G1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on April 8.
“I expected her to be forwardly placed,” Geroux said of his trip aboard Turnerloose. “She broke really good. I was in a good spot but there were two horses in front of me going into the first turn, so I sat chilly, kept her in a nice rhythm. I wasn't going to force the pace if I didn't have to. When La Crete moved out of the way, I came inside. When I got my window, I fit her in and coming down the lane. I tipped her outside and I continually kept on. She was getting brave and went on to catch a nice filly.”
Hidden Connection was tracking La Crete in second when Rosario pulled his filly up and to the outside, then led the way to the top of the stretch, when Goddess of Fire moved to the top, putting her head in front at the eighth pole. Turnerloose uncorked her rally, taking command in the final sixteenth of a mile.
Bret Calhoun, trainer of Hidden Connection, the beaten favorite said: “You're always disappointed when you don't win. I think it was a good race for her to move forward. Reylu (Gutierrez) had to use her some out of the gate being stuck in the 11-post. He worked out a good trip going into first turn and it went smooth from there. She fought hard but just got a little empty on us. She's been off a good while and her works coming back were subpar until that last work which was good, so I think we gave up a little fitness there. If we could have got that last work two weeks ago I think we would've been where we needed to be. We were just a little short today.”
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