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An embarrassment of Riches in the Oaks RAGS TO RICHES (A.P. Indy) has spent the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) training in company with Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Circular Quay (Thunder Gulch). During that time, the pair has passed more than one work with the larger filly and her smaller stablemate cruising in tandem. On Friday, Rags to Riches' rivals in the $589,200 Oaks felt the brunt of her power as the Todd Pletcher-trained miss exploded in the stretch to take the 1 1/8-mile test by 4 1/4 easy lengths. "Does winning this race make me wish I'd run her against colts? No, what it does is really make me feel good about Circular Quay's chances tomorrow (in the Derby)," Pletcher said. "They've been on the same training program for several weeks now and her race makes me think that his race may be just as good." Racing in the colors of Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, the chestnut lass was settled three or four wide by jockey Garrett Gomez as Dreaming of Anna (Rahy) and Mistical Plan (Game Plan) moved to the front. Last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) champion led through splits of :23 1/5, :47 4/5 and 1:12 3/5, with Mistical Plan pressing just to her outside. All the while, Rags to Riches was content to run in between rivals while off the rail, then came four wide into the stretch. Gomez maneuvered Rags to Riches to the center of the track and she took off, easily pulling clear in her first start over a sealed, muddy track to stop the teletimer in 1:49 4/5 in front of an Oaks Day crowd of 100,075. "I was worried about the track condition," Pletcher admitted. "You hate to think about being beat with the best horse because of the track. I was worried about it all day long. I was worried about the outside post, too. It looked like the inside and the speed had all the edge today, so I was concerned about her situation for sure. But she took care of all of that. "There was lots of adversity out there today, but she overcame it all. The really good ones will do that." With this score, Rags to Riches avenged the only loss of her career, which came at Churchill Downs in her debut last June. On that same day in New York, her half-brother Jazil (Seeking the Gold) posted a 1 1/4-length victory in the Belmont S. (G1) at Belmont Park. The sophomore miss had a lot to live up to and was more than up to the challenge when making her second career start, taking a Santa Anita maiden special weight test by six lengths on January 7. She showed up for her stakes bow in the Las Virgenes S. (G1) and proved her heart was true after breaking to the right from her outermost post in that mile test. Settling about five wide around the first turn, Rags to Riches raced about four wide down the backstretch and came into the straightaway five wide once again. Rallying late that day, she got up for the three-quarters of a length win. Reappearing in the Santa Anita Oaks (G1), she didn't have quite as wide a trip, but still ran on the outside before dominating by 5 1/2 lengths at the wire. Rags to Riches rewarded her many backers on Friday with payouts of $5, $3.80 and $2.80 while keying the $30 exacta as the 3-2 favorite. Octave (Unbridled's Song) saved ground on the rail while in midpack and came out in upper stretch to easily take second by 3 1/2 lengths, returning $5.20 and $3.60 as the 6-1 fourth pick. High Heels (E Dubai) was blocked for a brief moment in the stretch and bumped at the three-sixteenths pole by Sealy Hill (Point Given), who was leaning in. High Heels then angled out and pulled off from the rest of the field to take third. Show was worth $3.60 at 6-1 while ending the $131 trifecta. Dawn After Dawn (Successful Appeal) rallied from near the back to finish the 11-4-3-1 superfecta that gave back $1,830.60. Next under the line were Mistical Plan, Dreaming of Anna, Tough Tiz's Sis (Tiznow), Autobahn Girl (A.P. Indy), Cotton Blossom (Broken Vow), Swift Temper (Giant's Causeway), Cash Included (Include), Sealy Hill and High Again (High Yield). Grace Happens (Aptitude) was pulled up after losing contact with the field on the far turn. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas reported after the race that the saddle slipped. Bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, Rags to Riches is out of Grade 2 heroine Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister), who finished second in the 1999 Acorn S. (G1) and third in the Mother Goose S. (G1), earning $250,920 from an 8-2-4-2 mark. The 11-year-old mare is out of 1982 Kentucky Oaks (G1) heroine Blush with Pride (Blushing Groom [Fr]), making her a full sister to Group 3 victor Turnberry Isle (Ire) (Deputy Minister) and a half-sister to Group 2 heroine and Group 1 runner-up Smolensk (Danzig) as well as Group 1 runner-up Maryinsky (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). This is the female family of multiple classic winner El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer), who was a champion in England and Ireland; English and Irish champion Try My Best (Northern Dancer); English, French and Irish highweight Xaar (Zafonic); and Spinning World (Nureyev), who captured the 1997 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) and was highweighted in both France and Ireland. Rags to Riches never got a chance to live up to her name, purchased for $1.9 million as a Keeneland September yearling, and she's already earned back $692,528 of her sale price. She has an unraced juvenile three-quarter brother named Casino Drive (Mineshaft) and an unnamed yearling half-brother by Giant's Causeway.
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