The $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) was the co-feature on Louisiana Derby Day, with eight 3-year-old fillies going 1 1/6 miles on the main track. Octave was the 7-5 favorite off her runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last time out, while Silverbulletday Stakes winner Appealing Zophie was the 5-2 second choice. This is a major prep for the Kentucky Oaks, as the last 2 Fair Grounds Oaks winners (in 2004 and 2005) went on to win at Churchill Downs. The Fair Grounds Oaks was not contested in 2006.
Mistical Plan and Appealing Zophie battled on the pace the whole way through a half in 46.99 and 3/4 in 1:11.51, while Octave was held up early by Garrett Gomez near the back of the pack. Through the stretch, Appealing Zophie tired badly and faded to last, allowing Mistical Plan an uncontested 4 length lead with an eighth of a mile to go. Octave put in a strong late rally but was no match for gate-to-wire winner Mistical Plan, winning by 3 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:44.02. It was 3 1/4 lengths back from Octave to Whatdreamsrmadeof in third.
Results Chart
Winning jockey Corey Nakatani said, "She's been a handful before. Today, I just let her run her best race. What more can you say about Doug O'Neill and young horses, and Mr. Reddam putting up the money to get these good horses? She was getting some pressure (from Appealing Zophie), but my main goal was to let her be comfortable. We were loaded for bear. She's run some clunkers going two turns, but we're not done yet."
Winning trainer Doug O'Neill added, "Beautiful. You always love the rail. The last two times going two turns, we didn't draw the greatest of posts and she got hung out wide. "The fractions seemed very quick. That worried me, but she's a filly you can't take back on. Corey just rode her beautifully."
Jockey Garrett Gomez aboard beaten favorite and second place finisher Octave said, "She ran a really good race. Unfortunately, I got caught in a little bit of traffic, and by the time I got clear, (Mistical Plan) was gone. She'd been off a long time (since the Breeders' Cup) and she finished well. We'll move forward off of this. There are bright things in her future."
Jockey John Velazquez aboard beaten favorite and last place finisher Appealing Zophie said, "She's okay. She went fast early. I tried to rate her a little bit. She cut her air off. Other than that, she was okay."
