Decked Out (Street Boss), a painful second in this summer's GI Del Mar Oaks, came flying from the back of the pack to nail the pacesetting Sassy Little Lila (Artie Schiller) on the line by a nose in the GI American Oaks on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita. Fresh off a memorable run with GI Preakness S. hero and GI betfair.com Haskell Invitational S. winner Exaggerator (Curlin), the Desormeaux brothers and winning owners Matt Bryan of Big Chief Racing, and Sol Kumin of Head of Plains Partners, et al, were back at it here on New Year's Eve. Kumin is also co-owner of the runner-up.
“You can't ever get enough of these Grade Is,” winning trainer Keith Desormeaux said. “I have to compliment the team. Grade Is are always what we're after and her broodmare value just skyrocketed, so it's very gratifying. To be able to buy these kinds of horses and get these goals accomplished, it's so fun and it's been a helluva year.”
Decked Out, an impressive heroine of the GIII Providencia S. over a yielding going at Santa Anita Apr. 9, went on a five-race losing streak thereafter. A well-beaten ninth in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational July 9, Decked Out bounced back next time, finishing a head short in the Del Mar Oaks prior to a last-of-12 finish against her elders in the GI Rodeo Drive S. Oct. 1.
“She was training awesome coming into today,” Desormeaux continued. “I think a key decision was not run her at Del Mar. We skipped a race in hopes of getting her fresh and that may have been the winning decision.”
The American Oaks distance was shortened earlier in the day from 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/8 miles due to concerns with the hillside crossing at the top of the stretch. Decked Out was given a 9-2 chance and dropped out to run third from the rear as New York shipper Sassy Little Lila set a strong pace of :22.68 and :47.03 up top. Starting to get going at the five-sixteenths pole, Decked Out advanced three-deep on the far turn, spun five-wide at the top of the lane and finished gamely to just nail the pacesetter by a nose in the final stride.
“It's been that kind of year for the Desormeaux family,” winning jockey Kent Desormeaux said. “It was doubtful from the quarter pole. I wasn't getting there fast enough and I thought I had won, but with the recent photo finishes, I was scared to have an opinion. The end result was close, because she's knocked on the door all year. She's been on the south end, and today she got on the north side. [The turf course] has a lot of give to it. I wouldn't call it yielding, but it's definitely soft.”
Pedigree Notes:
Decked Out becomes the fifth Grade/Group I winner for Street Boss, who is also the sire of 2016 GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Cathryn Sophia. The two-time stakes winner Once Around (You And I), a half-sister to the ill-fated GIII Tampa Bay Derby winner Odysseus (Malibu Moon), had a filly by The Factor in 2016 before visiting Constitution. Decked Out's breeder Haymarket Farm acquired Once Around for $26,000 at the 2011 KEEJAN sale.
Saturday, Santa Anita Park
AMERICAN OAKS-GI, $302,415, SA, 12-31, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:47.86, gd.
1–&DECKED OUT, 121, f, 3, by Street Boss
1st Dam: Once Around (MSW), by You and I
2nd Dam: Persimmon Hill, by Conquistador Cielo
3rd Dam: Rose O'Riley, by Nijinsky II
($45,000 Wlg '13 KEENOV; $75,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Big
Chief Racing, LLC, Head of Plains Partners LLC & Gene A. Voss;
B-Haymarket Farm LLC (KY); T-J. Keith Desormeaux; J-Kent J.
Desormeaux. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 16-3-2-3, $480,859.
*1/2 to Morrow Cove (Yes It's True), MSW, $182,610.[bullet ad=”bsw-bloodstock-purchased-privately”][bullet ad=”trackside-farm-yearling-sale”][bullet ad=”selectsales-shell”][bullet ad=”irt-shell”][bullet ad=”kbif-g1″]Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A.
2–Sassy Little Lila, 119, f, 3, Artie Schiller–Sharp Apple, by
Diesis (GB). ($115,000 Ylg '14 KEESEP). O-Sheep Pond Partners
& Michael J. Ryan; B-John A. Chandler (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
$60,000.[bullet ad=”stonestreet-trainingalum”]3–Lady Valeur (Ire), 119, f, 3, Multiplex (GB)–Hawk Eyed Lady
(Ire), by Hawk Wing. (€1,600 RNA 2yo '15 GORJUL). O-Eclipse
Thoroughbred Partners; B-Edmond Kent (IRE); T-Patrick
Gallagher. $36,000.
Margins: NO, HF, 1HF. Odds: 4.50, 4.20, 17.70.
Also Ran: Dreamarcher, Barleysugar (Ire), Cheekaboo, Stays in Vegas, How Unusual, Queen Blossom (Ire), Sheeza Milky Way, Dynamic Mizzes K, Mokat. Scratched: Mrs. Norris.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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