LOUISVILLE, KY (Friday, May 4, 2012)
Brereton Jones’
homebred Believe You Can wore down pace-setting Broadway’s
Alibi inside the eighth pole and drew off to win the 138th
running of the $1 million Kentucky Oaks by three-quarters
of a length before a crowd of 112,552 on Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs.
The
attendance was the second largest in Oaks history, surpassed by only the
116,046 on hand for the 2010 running.
The
Kentucky Oaks victory was the second for Brereton Jones and trainer Larry
Jones, who teamed to win the 2008 Run for the Lilies with Proud Spell.
Ridden
by Rosie Napravnik, who became the first female rider to win the
Kentucky Oaks, Believe You Can ran the 1 1/8 miles over a fast track in
1:49.50.
Broadway’s Alibi, ridden by John Velazquez, led the field of 14 through
fractions of :23.12, :47.47 and 1:11.58 with Believe You Can in closest
pursuit. Turning for home, Napravnik moved on Believe You Can, hooking the
leader and racing as a team to midstretch before Believe You Can slowly edged
away.
Winner
of the Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) in her most recent start, Believe You Can added
$564,200 to her bankroll and increased her career earnings to $1,059,484 with a
record of 9-6-0-0.
Believe You Can, a dark bay daughter of Proud Citizen out the El Prado-IRE mare
El Fasto, paid $29.60, $11.80 and $6.40 to her backers. Broadway’s Alibi
returned $6 and $4.20 with favored Grace Hall finishing third 2 ½ length
back under Javier Castellano and returning $3.20 to show.
Summer
Applause finished three-quarters of a length back in fourth and was
followed in order by On Fire Baby, Hard Not to Like, Sacristy,
Amie’s Dini, And Why Not, Jemima’s Pearl, Colonial
Empress, Karlovy Vary, Yara and Eden’s Moon.
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