Leslie’s Rose springs $20.90 upset in Ashland

Apr 05, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

The bloom was very much back on Leslie’s Rose in Friday’s $598,750 Ashland (G1), as the $1.15 million Keeneland yearling purchase upstaged champion Just F Y I and other Breeders’ Cup alumnae on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Owned by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm, Leslie’s Rose was rebounding from her first career loss in the March 2 Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream Park. The Todd Pletcher filly was bet down to 3-10 favoritism that day, but she wound up third after appearing slightly hesitant to rally on the inside.

Leslie’s Rose was taking on a deeper field, while stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time, in the Ashland at Keeneland. Much of the pre-race discussion focused on the rematch of the top three from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) – Just F Y I, Jody’s Pride, and Candied – plus the eagerly-awaited stakes debut of Impel, the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager.

Bettors accordingly overlooked Leslie’s Rose at odds of 9.45-1, making her Pletcher stablemate Candied the 1.64-1 favorite. Yet Leslie’s Rose’s connections kept faith in her, and the daughter of leading sire Into Mischief responded with a three-length victory.

Under regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr., Leslie’s Rose worked out a ground-saving trip just behind the pacesetter Halina’s Forte and the prompting Impel. Racing alongside Leslie’s Rose was Jody’s Pride. Next came Just F Y I, while Candied bided her time at or near the rear. Both Just F Y I and Candied were making belated seasonal reappearances, and perhaps proved a bit ring-rusty.

Impel, who went off as the 2.02-1 second choice here, put away longshot Halina’s Forte on the far turn. But she couldn’t put the race away, for a few rivals were just kicking into gear wider out.

Leslie’s Rose angled off the fence for a clear path into the lane, and enjoying the daylight, she enthusiastically kicked away in a final time of 1:43.85. By earning 100 Oaks points, for a total of 115, the bay assured herself of a spot in the gate on the first Friday in May.

#3 Leslie's Rose takes the G1 Ashland S. at Keeneland at 9/1 and earns 100 points towards the #KentuckyOaks! 🌹🌷@iradortiz was aboard for trainer Todd Pletcher!

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/Aw4PVdFEL0

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) April 5, 2024

Just F Y I rallied for second, adding 50 points to bring up her tally to 90, and setting herself up for a bigger effort in the Oaks. Impel boxed on for third (25 points), Candied got up for fourth (15 points for a total of 34), and longshot Standoutsensation checked in fifth (10 points). Shimmering Allure, Jody’s Pride, and Halina’s Forte concluded the order of finish.

Leslie’s Rose, who paid $20.90, has bankrolled $467,800 from her 4-3-0-1 line. A brilliant debut winner sprinting at Aqueduct on Nov. 19, she had to work harder to prevail in a Jan. 11 allowance at Gulfstream. Leslie’s Rose was expected to meet Just F Y I in the Davona Dale. When the champion scratched due to illness, Leslie’s Rose became the prohibitive favorite, only to be overturned in third.

“We didn’t lose any confidence in her,” Pletcher said of the Davona Dale loss. “She didn’t have a great trip that day. I think she got a good education. It was the first time she’d been in that scenario. You could see turning for home (jockey) Irad (Ortiz Jr.) had an opportunity to go into a tight spot, and she just wasn’t experienced enough to do that at that time. But we weren’t down on her, she came back, she breezed beautifully, so we said, ‘Let’s just stick to the game plan,’ and I’m glad we did.”

Bred by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services in the Bluegrass State, Leslie’s Rose is out of the Galileo mare Wildwood Rose, who is a half-sister to 2015 Florida Derby (G1) victor Materiality. Wildwood Rose is also a half to Grade 2 winner My Miss Sophia, the runner-up in the 2014 Kentucky Oaks (and herself the mother of Grade 1-winning millionaire Annapolis). Another close maternal relative, Grand Mo the First, is the third-placer in this year’s Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and Florida Derby.

“She’s always been a high-quality filly,” Pletcher said of Leslie’s Rose. “She’s always trained like she wants to run longer, and I think she proved that today, getting the opportunity to go two turns and finishing with good energy. So, fingers crossed.”

Just as Leslie’s Rose bounced back on Friday, so is hitherto unbeaten Just F Y I eligible to shrug off her Ashland loss and move forward next time at Churchill Downs.

“She got off a tick slow down the backside,” Just F Y I’s trainer, Bill Mott, observed. “(Jockey Junior Alvarado) said it took about two jumps to get her feet underneath her down the backside, but there was some traffic in front of her. When he asked her to finish up on the turn for home, she finished (well) but we probably needed to knock the rust off a little bit. She has been (unraced) for five months.

“She beat some nice fillies (today). We didn’t win, but our second main objective was to get a race in her and have her ready for the next one. So I am not totally disappointed.

“She got beat, but I can give some reasons for that. The Kentucky Oaks has been the plan all along, so I see no reason not to do that.”