LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — This is how impressively Good Cheer won the Kentucky Oaks Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs:
She looked like a filly who is ready to take on the colts.
What more can this undefeated, unchallenged, unflappable filly do, Brad Cox?
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“I’m not sure what her ceiling is,” said Cox, her trainer. “I’m not sure there is one … she always passes the eyeball test.”
Good Cheer looked as impressive winning the Oaks this year as Thorpedo Anna did while winning the Oaks last year — and Thorpedo Anna finished last year as the Horse of the Year.
Covering the mile-and-an-eighth in 1:50.15 across a muddy track, Good Cheer passed seven horses in the final five-eighths, four of them down the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Drexel Hill and Bless the Broken. As an solid 6-5 favorite, she paid $4.78, $3.62 and $3.02.
No, there was never any thought of racing the filly in the Derby. She was not campaigned for the Derby so she did not have the points to qualify. But Cox said that he believed the Derby points system needs to be modified to credit fillies for running in the top prep races -- in case another trainer wants to try to match what Genuine Risk did in 1980 and Winning Colors achieved in 1988.
Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock and American racing for Godolphin, the filly’s owner, said there were no plans to race Good Cheer against colts this spring, summer or fall.
“I don’t think we need to get out of our lane,” Banahan said. “I got just as much of a thrill winning this race today as I would winning the Derby.
“I would rather win this one than get beat in the Derby … this is the type of race Godolphin wants to be part of. To get to the top of the mountain in the Oaks is fantastic.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Godolphin has famously spent millions chasing a Derby victory — and still does not have one. According to the Derby media guide, Godolphin has started a dozen horses in the Derby and left Louisville with a single third-place finish.
A sports columnist can dream, especially after watching a performance like the one Good Cheer delivered — again.
She stalked a legitimate pace, settling behind six or seven horses going into the first turn.
“The mile and an eighth is her friend,” Cox said. “Luis just needed to get her in a good situation.”
“I just tried to keep her out of trouble,” Saez said.
The filly stuck to the task despite the mud being kicked back in her face. Riding with poise and patience, Saez moved her three wide on the backside in search of a clear and peaceful path.
She floated outside when Saez asked her for her best in the clubhouse turn. By then she was five horses off the rail. The extra distance that Good Cheer covered was never anything to worry about.
“When you’re riding this kind of horse, it doesn’t matter what move you make,” Saez said.
And then Good Cheer moved like she was trying to get on plane before the gate attendants shut the door. She won with gusto because that is what Good Cheer always does — win.
“The words I always go back to are her level of class,” Cox said. “She’s incredibly easy to deal with. She’s easy to train.”
Seven races. Seven wins — every one of them by more than two lengths.
Most of those wins came with the filly setting the fractions. On Friday she showed she can win against a solid field without everything set up the way she likes it.
Not bad for a horse that many considered the second-best filly in the Godolphin stable when she began racing as a 2-year-old last August in Indiana. Not bad for a filly that many tried to knock during the week because they were not dazzled by her speed figures.
Cox never flinched. Neither did Saez. Nor the filly.
“The farther we run, the better,” Cox said.
And maybe one day Good Cheer will line up against colts. On Friday she ran like a filly who has nothing to fear.
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