November 20, 2024

147th Kentucky Oaks field and ML

Malathaat
Malathaat wins the Ashland Stakes (Photo by Coady Photography)

Race 11 – $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) (5:51 p.m. ET)

Post PositionHorseJockeyML Odds
1Pauline’s PearlRicardo Santana Jr.20-1
2MaracujaKendrick Carmouche20-1
3ClairiereTyler Gaffalione5-1
4Crazy BeautifulJose Ortiz15-1
5Pass the ChampagneJavier Castellano15-1
6Travel ColumnFlorent Geroux3-1
7Ava’s GraceDavid Cohen50-1
8MorazFlavien Prat30-1
9CoachLuis Saez50-1
10MalathaatJohn Velazquez5-2
11Will’s SecretJon Court30-1
12Search ResultsIrad Ortiz Jr.3-1
13Competitive SpeedChris Landeros50-1
14MillefeuilleJoel Rosario20-1

Malathaat and Search Results put their unbeaten records on the line, while archrivals Travel Column and Clairiere clash again in Friday’s 147th Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.

The Todd Pletcher-trained Malathaat, who captured the Tempted and Demoiselle (G2) as a juvenile, returned triumphant with a powerful rally in the Ashland (G1). Runner-up Pass the Champagne, just caught late in her stakes debut, and Ashland third-placer Will’s Secret, previously successful in the Honeybee (G3) and Martha Washington, will try to turn the tables.

Search Results comes off a pair of stakes victories at Aqueduct. The Chad Brown pupil stepped up from the one-turn mile of the Busher to add the Gazelle (G2) at this 1 1/8-mile distance, with Maracuja improving into second.

Travel Column will receive plenty of support as the heroine of the Golden Rod (G2) here last fall and as the conqueror of the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in her latest. Clairiere, second in both, got the better of Travel Column in their mutual reappearance in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) and could appreciate the added ground of the Oaks.

Other contenders include the respective top three from the Fantasy (G3) — Pauline’s Pearl, Ava’s Grace, and Coach— as well as the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) trifecta of Crazy Beautiful, Millefeuille, and Competitive Speed. The lone California shipper, Santa Ysabel (G3) near-misser Moraz, exits a third in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2).