Tell
a Kelly, an impressive winner of the Darley Debutante on Sept. 4, will face six
other 2-year-old fillies – all of whom are looking for their first graded
stakes victory – in the Oak Leaf.
Run
at 1 1/16 miles over Cushion Track, the Oak Leaf is one of the Breeders’
Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In’’ races. The winner will earn a spot in the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies division.
Owned
by Ike and Dawn Thrash and trained by John Sadler, Tell a Kelly has won two of
three starts – all at Del
Mar - and earned $181,000.
After
finishing fifth in her debut on July 25, the Florida bred daughter of Tapit and
the Tabasco Cat mare Evrobi defeated maidens on Aug. 15, then was dominant in
the Debutante.
Tell
a Kelly became a Grade I winner with a 4 ½ length victory in the
Debutante, defeating Wickedly Perfect and eight others. She will be ridden
by Alonso Quinonez. All starters in the Oak Leaf will carry 122 pounds.
Trainer
Jerry Hollendorfer, who won the Oak Leaf for the first time with Blind Luck in
2009, is scheduled to run two fillies – Indian Gracey and Pacific Pride.
Owned
by Hollendorfer, Indian Gracey, a daughter of Indian Ocean out of the Matty G
mare Miz Betty Grace, comes off a neck maiden victory as the 7-10 favorite on
Sept. 5 at Del Mar. Prior to that, she finished 2 ½ lengths behind Tell a Kelly
when second as the 3-5 choice. In three starts she has earned $49,400.
Pacific
Pride, owned in partnership by Hollendorfer, John Carver and George Todaro,
finished fourth in her July 25 debut, then won by 2 ½ lengths as the odds-on
favorite on Aug. 29 at Del Mar. The lone entrant with a win beyond seven
furlongs – her maiden score came at one mile – Pacific Pride is by Storm Cat
out of the Fusaichi Pegasus mare Race for the Stars.
A
daughter of Rock Hard Ten out of the Gone West mare Alienated, Alienation is
back in California after two starts at Saratoga. Trained by Bob
Baffert for his wife Jill, Alienation graduated on the grass at Hollywood Park
in her debut on July 5, then was second in a pair of graded races in New York.
She
chased Position Limit in the Adirondack, a
Grade II, on Aug. 15, then was defeated four lengths by R Heat Lightning in the
Spinaway, a Grade I on Sept. 9. She has earned $104,600.
The
only other member of the lineup with a stakes win is True Way of Grace, who captured the
Barretts Debutante on Sept. 18 at Fairplex
Park.
Owned
by Peter O. Johnson and trained by Alexis Barba, the Yes It’s True filly out of
the Giant’s Causeway mare Evil’s Causeway had finished eighth and third in her
two previous starts at Del
Mar. She has earned $57,440.
Completing
the field are Rigoletta and Izshelegal, who finished 3-4, respectively, in the
Darley Debutante.
Owned
by a partnership that includes 3R3 Racing and trained by Terry Knight,
Izshelegal is by Maria’s Mon and the A.P. Indy mare Unkatzable. She is seeking
her first win in her fourth start and has banked $53,000.
Trained
by Dan Hendricks for Thor-Bred Stable LLC, Rigoletta, a daughter of Concerto
and the Montbrook mare Almost Aprom Queen, has a win in three races. She has
earned $60,820.
The
lineup, from inside out, for the 42nd Oak Leaf Stakes: Izshelegal,
Mike Smith rides, 122 pounds; Rigoletta, David Flores, 122; Indian Gracey, Joe
Talamo, 122; Alienation, Martin Garcia, 122; True Way of Grace, Joel Rosario,
122; Tell a Kelly, Alonso Quinonez, 122 and Pacific Pride, Rafael Bejarano,
122.