Kentucky Oaks Top 10

We have a new No. 1. Tarifa (Bernardini) beat a stellar field in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at the Fair Grounds to soar up the list to the top spot. We've dropped Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}), who has only had two three furlongs works so far this year, raising the possibility that she won't be ready for the GI Kentucky Oaks. We've also dropped Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Rachel Alexandra and Life Talk (Gun Runner), who was a disappointing sixth in the...

Churchill Downs' ban of Bob Baffert and the decision by his owners to keep their horses with the trainer, even though that means they cannot run at Churchill, will affect not just the Derby. Though Baffert's group of 3-year-old fillies is not as deep or as impressive as his collection of 3-year-old colts, he does have some fillies that, in a normal year, would be Oaks candidates. He has GII Starlet S. winner Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon). But his best filly may be Kinza (Carpe Diem), who rocketed to...

The last of the prep races for the GI Kentucky Oaks have been run, which means we have a pretty good idea who will be in the starting gate come May 5 in a race that is limited to 14 starters. As of now, you need 50 points to make the field, which is not good news for a handful of fillies who once looked like locks to make the race. Last year's 2-year-old filly champion, Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief), who held the top spot in this poll for several...

Throughout prep season for the GI Kentucky Oaks no filly seemed capable of putting in the type of performance that stamped them as the clear leader of the division. It has been a rather uninspiring three months. As for the Oaks itself, it kept looking like the race would be a crap shoot that just about anybody could win. But, thankfully, that changed last week. The win by Wet Paint (Blame) in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn was decisive and stamped her as the clear leader of the division....

All eyes last week were on the Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, where 38-1 shot Dreaming of Snow (Jess's Dream) scored a huge upset over 2-year-old filly champion Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) and the highly regarded Julia Shining (Curlin). That wasn't enough for Dreaming of Snow to make this week's Top 10 for the GI Kentucky Oaks, but it was certainly a herculean effort to defeat two such highly regarded horses. The spotlight this week will be on the Fair Grounds, where the mega-talented Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) will...

It's early in the season, but not too early to get excited about the group eyeing the GI Kentucky Oaks. In Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) you have a standout 2-year-old and a deserving Eclipse champion. Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) has so impressed trainer Tom Amoss that he said the GI Kentucky Derby is under consideration. Justique (Justify) has been ultra-impressive at times. They're the Top 3, but numbers four through 10 make up a group filled with potential. At least two prominent members of the division will not make it...

What to do with the Bob Baffert-trained horses? Up until now, we have been including them in the TDN Kentucky Oaks rankings, believing that they'd find a way into the race. Either their owners would move them to another trainer or Baffert would find a way through the courts that would allow them to enter. But when the story broke last week that Baffert had not nominated a single horse to the GI Kentucky Oaks we decided to drop them from the rankings and won't include them again until there...

While several of the sport's best 3-year-old fillies have still yet to race this year, there were plenty of developments since we last checked in with our top 10 for the GI Kentucky Oaks. The biggest story came Sunday out of California, where Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) demolished the competition in the GIII Las Virgenes. A day earlier, Girl With a Dream (Practical Joke) won the GIII Forward Gal S. at seven furlongs at Gulfstream, upsetting 3-5 favorite Radio Days (Gun Runner). The runner-up appeared to be a serious Oaks...