Oaklawn Report #9: Terra Promessa Punches Kentucky Oaks Ticket

Three Stars of the Week

– 1st Star: TERRA PROMESSA – This is a horse from day one you could tell had the talent to be special, and now she looks to be well on her way to living up to those expectations!  Terra Promessa turned the Honeybee Stakes into a laugher on Saturday, and has now locked herself into the starting gate for the Kentucky Oaks.  Even though she broke a bit slow she was able to get herself into a solid position on the back stretch, and then the race was never in doubt turning for home.  The unfortunate problem she now faces is the task of taking on two super fillies named Songbird and Cathryn Sophia once she gets to Kentucky.  She’ll have to keep improving, but there is no doubt this filly has a future.

– 2nd Star: LUNA DE LOCO – Friday’s seventh race featured several stakes caliber three year olds dropping in class to the allowance ranks, and in the end it was Luna de Loco who proved that he might be ready to step back up in class.  Luna de Loco ran a solid fourth in the Smarty Jones Stakes before a non effort in the Southwest Stakes finishing thirteenth.  The spotting back to this level made a lot of sense, and he rewarded his trainer’s smart move by easily winning the race.  This horse has a lot of upside, and is lightly raced so he might just be starting to hit his stride.  It will be interesting to see if he is pointed towards the Arkansas Derby or another Kentucky Derby prep race for his next start.

– 3rd Star: TAXABLE – Even though the Steve Asmussen trainee Cced failed to run well in the feature allowance on Friday, that didn’t mean the red hot trainer couldn’t win the race!  He also sent out Taxable, who showed her stuff in a big way as she stalked the early pace and ran away with it for a two length lead.  Taxable had not been seen since a nice maiden win at Churchill Downs as a two year old last June, but by the way she ran you would have never guessed she was coming off of a layoff.  Her strong race suggests she might have a big future, and it would be no surprise to see her run against stakes company next time out.

Flop of the Week

– CCED – After a very impressive maiden win at Fair Grounds Cced shipped to Oaklawn to take the next step in an allowance, but was defeated soundly finishing 6th as the heavy favorite.  Perhaps the sloppy track was just not to her liking as she seems to be a much better filly than what she showed.

Preview to Next Week

• Saturday March 19th – $900,000 Rebel Stakes (Grade 2) – 3 Year Olds – 1 1/16th miles
• Saturday March 19th – $350,000 Razorback Handicap (Grade 3) – 4 Year Olds and up – 1 1/16th miles
• Saturday March 19th – $350,000 Azeri Stakes (Grade 2) – Fillies and Mares 4 Year olds and up – 1 1/16th miles