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LOUISVILLE: Plum Pretty held off the fast-finishing St. John's River to win Friday's $1 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, giving master trainer Bob Baffert his second win in the three-year-old fillies' classic.
Perfectly ridden by jockey Martin Garcia, Plum Pretty (6-1) burst into the lead rounding the home turn and sprinted clear of the pack as the 13-runner field swept past the iconic Twin Spires before St. John's River made her late charge.
The crowd of 110,000 let out a mighty roar as Rosie Napravnik, the only female jockey in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, furiously rode St. John's River down the center of the dirt track only to fall agonizingly short by a neck as they reached the wire.
Zazu finished third, a further two and a half lengths behind, with the 2-1 favorite Joyful Victory coming fourth after being unable to keep pace with Plum Pretty when she accelerated at the top of the finishing straight.
"When I asked her to go, she just gave me everything and took off," Garcia said. "That was a pretty impressive win." A late bloomer who was rejected in the sale ring as a yearling before John Fort bought her for $130,000, the lightly-raced Plum Pretty suddenly emerged as a genuine Oaks contender after winning her last race in New Mexico by a staggering 25 lengths.
"This filly has been a gift," said Baffert, whose only previous Kentucky Oaks winner was Silverbulletday back in 1999. "It's been a long time between drinks." Baffert now has the chance to become the first trainer since Bob Jones in 1952 to complete the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double. He has Midnight Interlude in Saturday's $2.2 million Derby.
Napravnik is engaged to ride Pants on Fire in the Derby as she attempts to become the first woman to ride the winner of America's most famous race. No female jockey has won the Kentucky Oaks either but she came within a whisker of being the first.
"Everyone talks about how long this stretch is. I just wish it was one stride further," she said.
Perfectly ridden by jockey Martin Garcia, Plum Pretty (6-1) burst into the lead rounding the home turn and sprinted clear of the pack as the 13-runner field swept past the iconic Twin Spires before St. John's River made her late charge.
The crowd of 110,000 let out a mighty roar as Rosie Napravnik, the only female jockey in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, furiously rode St. John's River down the center of the dirt track only to fall agonizingly short by a neck as they reached the wire.
Zazu finished third, a further two and a half lengths behind, with the 2-1 favorite Joyful Victory coming fourth after being unable to keep pace with Plum Pretty when she accelerated at the top of the finishing straight.
"When I asked her to go, she just gave me everything and took off," Garcia said. "That was a pretty impressive win." A late bloomer who was rejected in the sale ring as a yearling before John Fort bought her for $130,000, the lightly-raced Plum Pretty suddenly emerged as a genuine Oaks contender after winning her last race in New Mexico by a staggering 25 lengths.
"This filly has been a gift," said Baffert, whose only previous Kentucky Oaks winner was Silverbulletday back in 1999. "It's been a long time between drinks." Baffert now has the chance to become the first trainer since Bob Jones in 1952 to complete the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double. He has Midnight Interlude in Saturday's $2.2 million Derby.
Napravnik is engaged to ride Pants on Fire in the Derby as she attempts to become the first woman to ride the winner of America's most famous race. No female jockey has won the Kentucky Oaks either but she came within a whisker of being the first.
"Everyone talks about how long this stretch is. I just wish it was one stride further," she said.
