Donald Dizney’s DIAMOND OMI (Giant’s Causeway) slipped through an opening
along the rail and out-gamed prohibitive favorite Wild Fit (Wild Wonder) to the
wire in taking the $200,000 Oak Leaf S. (G2) at Santa Anita on Saturday. Trained
by Bob Baffert and ridden by David Flores, the chestnut filly was prominent
early and tracked pacesetter Golden Silk (Songandaprayer) through fractions of :23 1/5 and :47 for the opening half-mile. As the field approached the turn for
home, Flores put his mount on the rail while Wild Fit chose the widest path,
which may have made the difference. Diamond Omi gave back $19.40, $4.40 and
$2.10 at 8-1, and completed the 1 1/16 miles over the fast track in a tepid 1:45 2/5. The margin of victory
was three-quarters of a length.
The 1-2 Wild Fit was game in second, paying $2.20 and $2.10 while completing
the $25.90 exacta ($1). Golden Silk, another 4 1/2 lengths back, stayed on for
third and was worth $2.10 while finishing off the $127.10, 2-4-6 trifecta ($1) at 17-1. Evening
Escort (Stephen Got Even) was next and trailed by Indy Miss (A. P. Indy),
Acceleration (Vision and Verse) and Madre May (Old Trieste).
Diamond Omi moves her career mark to 4-2-0-1 with earnings of $160,740. This
was the filly’s stakes debut.
The winner was bred in Kentucky by Barnett Enterprises and fetched a bid of
$190,000 at the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. She was
produced from Hum Along (Fappiano), and counts herself a half-sister to champion
Storm Song (Summer Squall), as well as a full-sister to an unnamed 2005 Giant’s
Causeway colt.