Pavlovian, Bottle of Rouge prevail in Sunland Derby, Oaks

On a stakes-packed Sunday at Sunland Park, California raiders Pavlovian and Bottle of Rouge took the two biggest prizes: the $500,000 Sunland Park Derby and $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks.

Sunland Park Derby

Arguably New Mexico’s most important Thoroughbred horse race, the Sunland Park Derby is a 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier worth 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers.

Express Kid, a runaway winner of the Remington Springboard Mile S. on the Kentucky Derby trail, started as the heavy 11-10 favorite in the Sunland Park Derby. He broke like a rocket from the starting gate and carved out fractions of :23.07, :46.40, and 1:10.07 while closely pursued by Pavlovian, who was never more than half a length behind under jockey Edwin Maldonado.

Turning for home, Express Kid failed to kick away from Pavlovian, and an intense homestretch battle ensued. Through the final furlong, Pavlovian gradually wore down the favorite to hit the wire in front by a nose in 1:42.22.

Express Kid pulled 5 1/4 lengths clear of Bricklin, who raced in third place at every call. Early trailer Daneyko closed for fourth place, followed by Forty Twenty and Buntus Foclora. Sharons Beach and Way Beyond scratched.

Pavlovian is a Reddam Racing homebred trained by Doug O’Neill, the same team behind Kentucky Derby (G1) winners I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016). He debuts in ninth place on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 20 points. Express Kid likewise has 20 points and ranks 10th as a result of a tie-breaker based on earnings in non-restricted stakes.

Sunland Park Oaks

Whereas the Sunland Park Derby ended in an upset, the one-mile Sunland Park Oaks produced the expected result as 2-5 favorite Bottle of Rouge prevailed comfortably in the end. But a stewards' inquiry and claim of foul made the result uncertain for a while until it was declared official.

Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the daughter of Vino Rosso arrived at Sunland with the best record among the seven starters. Last summer, she won the Del Mar Debutante (G1) over a field including future Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) runner-up Explora.

Bottle of Rouge failed to factor in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, finishing sixth, but she bounced back nicely in the Sunland Park Oaks, which marked her first race of 2026. With jockey Juan Hernandez in the saddle, the gray filly rated in third place through splits of :23.85 and :46.80, advanced to second through six furlongs in 1:10.56, and then edged away to triumph by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:35.82.

Along the way, Bottle of Rouge ducked out and affected third-placer Pashmina, triggering an objection from her rider, Cristian Torres, that was disallowed.

Touch of Magic launched a menacing rally from sixth place to challenge Bottle of Rouge, but flattened out in the final furlong to finish second. Pashmina, Coffee Connection, and Not a Lady rounded out the top five, followed by early pacesetter Cashed and In the Aggregate. Ivy Girl scratched.

Bred by Kathie Maybee and owned by Jill Baffert, Bottle of Rouge earned the biggest share of the 20-10-6-4-2 Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualification points awarded to the top five finishers. She debuts in 10th place on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualification leaderboard, while Pashmina—previously third in the Untapable S. and fourth in the Silverbulletday S. on the Kentucky Oaks trail—sits in 15th place with a total of 13 points.