Top 12 to follow on the Road to the 2026 Kentucky Oaks

Sep 12, 2025 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Tommy Jo wins the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga.

Tommy Jo wins the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)

Just as Kentucky Derby (G1) prospects develop through the fall and spring, so do young female Thoroughbreds with aspirations toward the Derby’s “sister race” for fillies, the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Contested the day before the Derby at the same historic racetrack, Churchill Downs, the Oaks will be held on May 1, 2026. The Oaks is dubbed the “Run for the Lilies,” a variation on the Derby’s nickname, the “Run for the Roses.”

The 1 1/8-mile Oaks, slightly shorter than the 1 1/4-mile Derby, has its own designated preps. As with the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Road to the Kentucky Oaks is a series of races that offer points to qualify for the Oaks.

Both “Roads” begin at Churchill on Saturday, with the Iroquois (G3) for Derby hopefuls and the Pocahontas (G3) for potential Oaks fillies. But more promising youngsters will audition as the trail progresses over the next several months.

Top 12 to follow

Based on the fillies we’ve seen over the summer, here are my top 12 to follow on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks:

Tommy Jo, Spinaway (G1) winner, trained by Todd Pletcher
Percy’s Bar, Spinaway runner-up, trained by Ben Colebrook
Bottle of Rouge, Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner, trained by Bob Baffert
Explora, Del Mar Debutante runner-up, trained by Baffert
La Wally, Del Mar Debutante third, trained by Mark Glatt
Five Bars, Saratoga debut winner, trained by Shug McGaughey
Ornellaia, Saratoga debut winner, trained by Chad Brown
Meringue, Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies winner, trained by Rodolphe Brisset
Carmel Coast, Saratoga debut winner, trained by Whit Beckman
Chopsticks, Ellis Park Debutante winner, trained by Brad Cox
On Time Girl, Churchill Downs allowance winner, trained by Cox
Glory Me, Ellis Park debut winner, trained by Cherie DeVaux

Why are these fillies worth following?

Tommy Jo

Spendthrift Farm’s homebred Tommy Jo was much the best in both of her starts at Saratoga. In her career debut, the Pletcher filly rolled by 3 3/4 lengths over Tennessee Belle (who came back to romp in her next start). Tommy Jo was even more impressive in the Spinaway, motoring 6 1/2 lengths clear in Saratoga’s most important race for two-year-old fillies.

Like her stablemate Ted Noffey, the Hopeful (G1) winner who races for the same connections, Tommy Jo is by leading sire Into Mischief. She is out of Mother Mother, the winner of the 2018 Rags to Riches S. at Churchill. Mother Mother also placed in a pair of major races at two, the Del Mar Debutante and Starlet (G1).

Percy’s Bar

Although Percy’s Bar was no match for Tommy Jo in the Spinaway, she rallied from further behind to finish all alone in second. The Colebrook pupil had stormed home to win her first two starts – a Keeneland maiden and the Debutante S. at Churchill – by a combined margin of nine lengths.

Bred by the late Kentucky Gov. Brereton C. Jones, the breeder of Oaks winners Proud Spell (2008) and Believe You Can (2012), Percy’s Bar races for Hat Creek Racing.

Bottle of Rouge

Bottle of Rouge was an underdog in the Del Mar Debutante, but the 9-1 shot toppled her heavily-favored stablemate from the Bob Baffert barn, Explora. Owned by Jill Baffert, the Hall of Fame trainer’s wife, Bottle of Rouge stayed on determinedly down the stretch to overhaul the favorite.

The well-named daughter of Vino Rosso brought an improving profile into the Del Mar Debutante. After a distant second in her debut at Santa Anita, Bottle of Rouge dominated a Del Mar maiden, and she continued her upward trajectory in the seaside track’s marquee race in the division. Yet her beaten rivals have a license to move forward next time.

Explora

Explora is a lot better than she showed in the Del Mar Debutante. In her only prior start, the Baffert pupil made it look easy when crushing a maiden by 4 3/4 lengths. She recorded a 98 Brisnet Speed rating, underscoring the strength of her front-running effort.

If Explora had performed similarly in the Del Mar Debutante, she would have won for fun. Instead, she regressed to an 88 Speed rating and got caught by Bottle of Rouge, who wasn’t as fast on paper. But Explora was coming back on relatively shorter rest, and that might explain why she couldn’t duplicate her maiden romp.

With more spacing between races, Explora is eligible to rebound for co-owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. She has the pedigree to step up in distance. Her sire, champion Blame, denied Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and Explora’s mother is by champion Bernardini.

La Wally

Muir Hut Stables’ La Wally, the closing third in the Del Mar Debutante, is likewise capable of progressing on the trail. Her mother is a half-sister to 2020 Oaks heroine Shedaresthedevil; in human terms, Shedaresthedevil would count as La Wally’s “aunt.”

La Wally had won her only previous start in encouraging fashion. Debuting over a 5 1/2-furlong trip that figured to be a bit short for her, La Wally closed furiously to get up by a nose. In the Del Mar Debutante, she had to alter course before unleashing her stretch rally, or else she might have threatened Bottle of Rouge.

Five Bars

Stuart S. Janney III’s homebred Five Bars recovered from a badly troubled start to go last-to-first in her debut on Travers Day at Saratoga. Trained by the patient Shug McGaughey, she might have been expected to use her first race as an educational outing. That appeared to be the case especially once Five Bars got pinballed on both sides coming out of the gate, checked hard, and found herself a few lengths behind the field.

Realistically, Five Bars would have done well just to regroup and pass some rivals. But she defied both her trouble and her inexperience, rallying strongly and splitting horses to prevail by a half-length. From the first crop of $2 million-earner Maxfield, Five Bars will love stretching out to two turns.

Ornellaia

The $1.1 million sales topper at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic in May, Ornellaia got off to an awkward start and lagged well behind early in her Saratoga debut. But the long-striding filly made a sustained move to pass the field and win going away by 2 1/2 lengths. The runner-up, Steer Clear, came back to go wire-to-wire in her next race.

Trained by Brown for Amo Racing USA and Memo America, Ornellaia was entered in the Spinaway, only to be scratched. She hasn’t posted a workout since.

Meringue

Meringue was also scratched from the Spinaway, but in her case, it was to run in a different spot – the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies over a mile on the grass. That decision by trainer Brisset worked out well, as the Elements Racing runner finished best in a cavalry charge to the wire. Meringue, who also got up in time in her turf sprint debut at Churchill, is now 2-for-2 on turf.

Yet in between those turf wins, Meringue was a useful second in Saratoga’s Adirondack (G3) in her only dirt attempt. Last early, she had a spot of trouble trying to rally between horses, shrugged it off, and gained ground late on the front-running winner, Mythical. Brisset is mulling a return to dirt at some point for the versatile filly, who is by Frosted and out of a mare by 2007 Kentucky Derby star Street Sense.

Carmel Coast

Carmel Coast ran her rivals off their feet in her Saratoga premiere for Beckman. Owned by Legion Racing, MHM Stables, Ed Stefanski, and William Conlin, the daughter of Omaha Beach set the pace and opened up by 5 1/2 lengths.

Chopsticks

The 2-for-2 Chopsticks is the early headliner from the first crop of two-time champion Essential Quality, third as the favorite in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Like her sire, she is a gray trained by Cox.

Chopsticks drove clear in a Churchill maiden and handled a step up in class in the Debutante S. at Ellis Park. In the Debutante, Chopsticks repelled a notable challenger in Kingsolver, who had taken the Schuylerville S. at Saratoga in her previous start.

Born later in the foaling season, on May 2, Chopsticks could still be playing catch-up physically to those born earlier. It’s a great sign that the Selective LLC colorbearer is showing this degree of ability at this stage.

On Time Girl

Fellow Cox trainee On Time Girl is also unbeaten from two starts. But she’s a speedier type who’s forced the early pace on both occasions. On Time Girl won by daylight in her Ellis debut, and in her allowance tally on Churchill’s opening night Thursday, she widened her advantage to four lengths.

The homebred is a total Albaugh Family production. Both her red-hot sire, Not This Time, and her mother, Girl Daddy, were prominent Albaugh runners themselves. Neither ran beyond their two-year-old seasons, but both were Grade 3 winners who placed in their respective Breeders’ Cup races as a juveniles.

Glory Me

Glory Me, a $975,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Lael Stables, swept to a four-length victory in her unveiling at Ellis. Her display prompted DeVaux to ship her up to Saratoga, reportedly to point for the Spinaway. She was training sharply, only to fall off the worktab after mid-August.

By Hall of Famer Gun Runner, Glory Me is a half-sister to Grace Adler, the 2021 Del Mar Debutante winner; Pyrenees, hero of last year’s Pimlico Special (G3); and Grade 2-placed Virginia Key, who became the mother of reigning Florida Derby (G1) victor Tappan Street.

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