Demoiselle, Starlet next up on Road to Kentucky Oaks
Dec 02, 2021
The Road to the Kentucky Oaks stops on both the East and West Coast on Saturday, with the Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct and the Starlet (G1) at Los Alamitos. Each offers points to the respective top four finishers according to the 10-4-2-1 scale.
Demoiselle
The added distance of the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle figures to play right into the hands of Nest, a full sister to reigning Santa Anita H. (G1) winner Idol. The Todd Pletcher filly romped by five lengths in her debut at 1 1/16 miles, but got going too late when third in the one-mile Tempted S. Nest rates as the 2-1 morning-line favorite as she reunites with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who was aboard for her maiden tally.
Also likely to attract support are fellow bluebloods Nostalgic and Tap the Faith, both stepping up to stakes company from first-out wins at Belmont Park. Godolphin homebred Nostalgic was visually impressive in her 1 1/16-mile conquest, but her time was slow, so the Bill Mott pupil has to answer that question here. The Christophe Clement-trained Tap the Faith, a daughter of Tapit and Grade 1 winner Embellish the Lace, rolled from last to get up around a one-turn mile.
Tempted runner-up Magic Circle, previously fourth to unbeaten star Echo Zulu in the Frizette (G1), brings the top established stakes form. P.G. Johnson winner Miss Interpret tries to rebound from a ninth in the Alcibiades (G1), while undefeated Maid of the Mist S. heroine Venti Valentine ventures outside New York-bred ranks for the first time. Golden Essence adds blinkers after breaking her maiden in her fourth attempt at Parx. Full Count Felicia nearly wired a turf maiden last out, and her early speed could serve her well if she handles dirt.
Starlet
Later on Saturday, the Starlet features a much higher-profile turf-to-dirt angle in Cairo Memories. Dominant in her first two starts on the grass, including the Surfer Girl S. at Santa Anita, Cairo Memories wasn’t beaten far when a troubled ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). Trainer Bob Hess Jr. had already considered running the Cairo Prince filly on the main track, even giving her a pre-entry in the Juvenile Fillies (G1) itself, so the surface switch is no mere stab. Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux retains his partnership with Cairo Memories.
Bob Baffert sends out the two with the best dirt resumes – Del Mar Debutante (G1) romper Grace Adler, coming off a clunker in the Chandelier (G2), and Eda, the daylight winner of the Anoakia S. and Desi Arnaz S. who will try to carray her speed 1 1/16 miles. Stablemate Benedict Canyon was last seen finishing third in the Anoakia.
Rounding out the six-filly field are Desert Dawn, third in the Chandelier and most recently the trailer in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and Tonito’s, second-best behind Eda in the Desi Arnaz.
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