In Monomoy Girl, trainer Brad Cox already had one of the betting favorites in next month’s Kentucky Oaks (G1). On Friday, the high-percentage conditioner saddled Sassy Sienna to an upset victory in the $400,000 Fantasy (G3) at Oaklawn Park, which earned the daughter of Midshipman a spot in the Oaks field herself at Churchill Downs on May 4.
Contested on a sealed surface that would be downgraded from fast to good after the race’s conclusion, the Fantasy awarded Oaks qualifying points of 100-40-20-10 to the top four finishers. Sent away at 11-1 following placings in the Martha Washington and Honeybee (G3) earlier in the meet, Sassy Sienna was a clear second down the backside as 7-5 favorite Amy’s Challenge, as she had done in the Honeybee, set a fast pace she couldn’t ultimately sustain.
In front through splits of :22.87, :45.88, and 1:10.52, Amy’s Challenge was still going well in upper stretch as Sassy Sienna, joined by second choice Wonder Gadot at the quarter pole, raced in tandem toward the favorite. By mid-stretch, though, Amy’s Challenge was a spent force. In between rivals, Sassy Sienna fought back gamely inside Wonder Gadot to the wire and got her nose in front under Gary Stevens in a time of 1:45.63.
Owned by Medallion Racing and Jerry McClanahan, Sassy Sienna paid $25. Wonder Gadot, second or third four times since taking the Demoiselle (G2) in December, earned 40 Oaks qualifying points, while the distance-challenged Amy’s Challenge held third. Honeybee winner Cosmic Burst was fourth in the field of eight.
“She grinded it out. She’s a tough filly and showed up today,” Cox said. “It’s a good spot to be in (with regard to the Oaks). We have two fillies worthy of being there.”
A debut winner on the turf at Indiana Grand last July, Sassy Sienna was subsequently third in the $100,000 P.G. Johnson on turf at Saratoga, fourth in the Alcibiades (G1), second in a Churchill allowance, and fifth to Cosmic Burst in the $100,000 Trapeze at Remington Park. She kicked off her sophomore season with a 9 1/2-length allowance win at Oaklawn on January 15, then third to that rival in the Honeybee following a second in the Martha Washington. Her cumulative record now reads 9-3-2-2, $394,600.
Bred in Kentucky by Haymarket Farm, Sassy Sienna was a $65,000 Keeneland September yearling. She was reared by Tap for Gold, a Pleasant Tap mare also responsible for the stakes-placed Newton John, Spina, and Ruth and Neva. Sassy Sienna’s second dam was the Grade 2-winning juvenile Golden Reef.
