Wonder Gadot captures Demoiselle

Dec 02, 2017 Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

Wonder Gadot made her debut in the fifth spot on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard Saturday thanks to a 3 3/4-length score in the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct.

The Mark Casse-trained filly earned 10 points toward a starting berth in next year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) with her victory under jockey John Velazquez. The Demoiselle is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races, and awarded 10-4-2-1 points to the respective top four finishers in the contest.

The Demoiselle is unique in that it is one of only three races on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks at the actual Kentucky Oaks distance of nine furlongs. All three of those contests take place at Aqueduct, with the Busanda Stakes coming up next on January 21 and the Gazelle Stakes (G2) scheduled for April 7 next spring.

Wonder Gadot attempted to get on the Oaks Leaderboard last out while making her dirt bow in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar, but could only get up for sixth after running near the rear early on. She received a rider switch for the Demoiselle to Velazquez, and that Hall of Famer jockey allowed the Medaglia d’Oro filly to settle outside leader Daisy on the backstretch Saturday.

Velazquez bided his time until the final turn, then gave Wonder Gadot her signal. The dark bay miss took off, easily drawing even with Daisy on the bend and then pulling away with a high-stepping stride throughout the stretch. She stopped the clock in 1:53.91 and improved her career line to 5-3-0-1, $319,973.

Like Wonder Gadot, Maurer Power, Layla Noor and Daisy all made their debuts on the Oaks Leaderboard thanks to the Demoiselle. Maurer Power took home the four runner-up points, good for 12th on the list, while Layla Noor (two points) and Daisy (one point) showed up in 19th and 20th, respectively.