Starspangledbanner filly Kensington Lane blitzes them in Belmont Oaks

Although the buzz going into Saturday’s $600,000 Belmont Oaks (G1) was all about Godolphin raider Abashiri, it was the other European shipper, the 23-1 Kensington Lane, who bossed the 1 1/8-mile feature on the front end at Saratoga.

Trained by Donnacha O’Brien, whose A Boy Named Susie finished second to father Aidan’s star Constitution River in the Eclipse (G1) earlier Saturday, Kensington Lane was coming off a fifth in the Irish 1,000 Guineas (G1). Abashiri had the edge on form, as the third-placer in that Curragh classic, but the 1.33-1 favorite flopped with the venue change to U.S. conditions.

Kensington Lane fit the Fourth of July occasion, both as a daughter of Starspangledbanner, and as an acquisition by American interests. Agave Racing Stable, Medallion Racing, and Evan Trommer purchased her after her first stakes victory in the May 3 Athasi (G3) at the Curragh. Her penchant for alert starts, early speed, and quick conditions made her a logical type for the U.S. turf scene, although the long-range plan involved more opportunities once she joined trainer Phil D’Amato in Southern California. 

But Kensington Lane seized her very first stateside chance with alacrity at the Spa. With Joel Rosario making the most of her tactical speed, she sped forward in the opening furlong.

In contrast, Abashiri undermined her own cause by breaking slowly. Trainer Charlie Appleby had identified the start as a potential concern, but the initial error was compounded by her rushing up aggressively on the outside. 

By the time jockey William Buick tried to throttle her down on the clubhouse turn, Abashiri had passed the entire field to post an opening quarter in :23.47. Even once she deferred to Kensington Lane, Abashiri was lit up, and it wasn’t a surprise that she folded in the stretch.

The more experienced Kensington Lane was the picture of professionalism as she regained the lead. Nursed along in fractions of :48.82 and 1:13.17, she turned on the afterburners to shoot clear by midstretch in 1:36.45. Kensington Lane finished 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.77, and that final furlong in :11.32 ensured that she still had 1 3/4 lengths to spare at the wire.

Faithful Departed, the 3.77-1 second choice, rallied from last for runner-up honors. Fitz Right was another half-length back in third, followed by Storm’s Wake, Time to Dream, Imaginationthelady, Just Aloof, Abashiri, Ultimate Love, and Carmensita.

Buick believed that the lightly-raced Abashiri wasn’t streetwise enough. 

“She jumped a bit slow, so I went around them and put her in a good position,” Buick recapped. “We went to the front; there was no pace on. At the half-mile, she was struggling. She’s probably not used to the sharp oval tracks, lacked that experience.”

“We were a bit surprised she was such a big price,” Medallion Racing’s Phillip Shelton said after Kensington Lane paid $48.66. 

“She was beaten by Abashiri last time. What we knew is she wants firm ground, and we thought the way she runs in Europe, a turning track would suit, and she just bolted up today. In this business, plans don’t work out very often, but this time it did.

“In Europe, she’s forward. She was basically on the lead in the Irish Guineas. Talking to Joel (Rosario) before, he said, ‘it doesn’t look like there’s much speed on paper.’ Given the way she’s broken out of the gate in Europe, we thought she could be forward. 

“I told him, ‘we want her to be within a couple lengths of the lead, if she ends up on the lead because nobody goes, that’s fine.’ He opened up by three (lengths) and I was hoping he didn’t go too early, but it never felt like he had to get into her too hard. She appreciated the circumstances of the race.”

Kensington Lane’s new career high boosted her bankroll to $411,281 from her 10-3-2-0 line. She raced for Donnacha’s mother, Annemarie O’Brien, until the Irish Guineas.

The chestnut was bred in Ireland by the Almost Always Partnership, named after her dam. Almost Always can boast that both of her parents are classic winners, the great Galileo and triple Oaks (G1) heroine Ramruma, who won the Epsom and Irish classics as well as the version at York in 1999. 

Now that Kensington Lane has already achieved her Grade 1 ambition, she might prompt a rethink of plans by her owners.

“I’ll have to talk to the partners and see what we want to do,” Shelton said. “In Europe, there are no more restricted three-year-old only Grade 1s. In America, there are three more. Given her propensity for firm ground, she still may go to California, but she could go back to Europe. We’ll have to talk amongst ourselves and figure out what we want to do.”