In ‘Quest’ of an Eclipse Award
July 23, 2012 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
Given the fluctuating state of the 3-year-old filly division, the result of Saturday’s $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga wasn’t all that surprising.
The year started with the undefeated My Miss Aurelia at the head of the class. A shin injury has kept her sidelined since her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last November.
Believe You Can looked great in winning the Kentucky Oaks and Contested was dazzling in capturing the Acorn. They, in turn, were third and fifth, respectively in a field of five in the Mother Goose.
So when Zo Impressive and Disposablepleasure, who ran 1-2 in the Mother Goose, as well as In Lingerie, winner of the Black-Eyed Susan, resurfaced in the CCA Oaks, the law of diminishing returns made it seem altogether logical that it would be someone’s else’s turn to enjoy their 15 seconds of fame in the division’s spotlight.
So now let’s say hello to Questing, who added even more confusion to a muddled division. After stalking the early leader in second, she sprinted clear on the final turn and pulled away to take the CCA Oaks by 4 lengths over Zo Impressive in her very first stakes appearance of the year.
Questing, who began her career in Europe, started 2012 with two unplaced finishes in allowance races on the turf. But when Kiaran McLaughlin, who took over her training following a fifth-place showing in last year’s BC Juvenile Fillies, tried her on dirt in a June 24 allowance race at Belmont Park, she responded with an impressive 3 length victory that opened her trainer’s eyes.
“She didn’t run so well on the turf twice. We switched her to the dirt, and now she’s 2-for-2 for us on the dirt. It was a great win, a Grade 1 win, for Godolphin,” said McLaughlin, who won last year’s CCA Oaks with Godolphin’s It’s Tricky. “It’s wonderful for Sheikh Mohammed, and we’re so proud to have her.”
Final time was 1:50.30 for the mile and an eighth, which might have been a tad faster if Questing ($9.80) had not drifted out badly in the stretch.
“She drifted out, and it was a little scary, but she crossed the wire first clearly, so we’ll work on that later,” McLaughlin said.
Zo Impressive, who rallied from last in a field of six and had 2 lengths on the favored In Lingerie, was not embarrassed by the winner and chances are she and few of the other main players in the CCA Oaks will resurface four weeks from now at Saratoga in the $600,000 Alabama, a Grade 1 stakes that could have a major say in crowning a division champ.
“She ran well, but the winner was more impressive today,” said Tom Albertrani, who trains Zo Impressive for Live Oak Plantation. “We were second best. We took a shot at her at the quarter pole. It looked like we were going to get by [Questing] at one point, but she broke away from us again. If everything goes well over the next couple of weeks, we are definitely looking at the Alabama,”
Given the longer distance of the mile-and-a-quarter Alabama, that makes, let’s say, sense — a word that has not been said too often about the doings in a whacky 3-year-old filly division.
