HOT SPRINGS -- Unheralded Sarah Sis and 2-year-old Eclipse Award winner Take Charge Brandi were noses apart during the stretch run of the Martha Washington Stakes more than two months ago.
It was difficult to tell which filly had the lead 30 yards from the finish of the 1-mile race, but Sarah Sis and jockey Julio Felix appeared to have the momentum as they dueled with Take Charge Brandi, the winner of three consecutive Grade I races and the 2-5 favorite that day.
Sarah Sis came up a nose short, but that narrow defeat, coming after many lengths of lost ground, assured Felix, owner Joe Ragsdale and trainer Ingrid Mason that Sarah Sis belonged with the top fillies at Oaklawn and around the nation.
Felix recalled the Martha Washington stretch duel on Friday afternoon in the Oaklawn Park jockey's room as he looked ahead to today's Grade III $400,000 Fantasy Stakes, the pinnacle of Oaklawn's season for 3-year-old fillies.
Post time for the Fantasy, which kicks off Oaklawn's Racing Festival of the South, is set for 5:09 p.m. with a field of 11 entered, including Sarah Sis, the 7-2 second choice in the morning line.
Take Charge Brandi, the Eclipse Award winner as the top 2-year-old filly for 2014, won't be participating. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas discovered a knee problem that required surgery four days before a scheduled meeting against the boys in the March 14 Rebel Stakes, and subsequent surgery has eliminated Take Charge Brandi from the Fantasy Stakes and any chance at the Kentucky Oaks, Churchill Downs' equivalent for fillies to the Kentucky Derby.
Sarah Sis took advantage of Take Charge Brandi's absence to win the Grade III $150,000 Honeybee by 1 1/2 lengths March 7 at Oaklawn, a result that was a validation for Felix, Ragsdale and Mason.
That doesn't mean Sarah Sis' connections expect a picnic in the Fantasy, not with the likes of south Florida shipper Feathered, the 3-1 morning-line favorite from the barn of Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and two talented fillies from southern California.
"Absolutely, Feathered will be a test," Mason said. "There are a couple of fillies in there. I mean, they're all tough."
Feathered, by Indian Charlie, will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., who is five days away from claiming his third consecutive riding title.
Southern California shipper Achiever's Legacy and Honeybee runner-up Oceanwave are listed at 5-1, followed by Pangburn and Lady Tapit at 8-1.
Pangburn, by Congrats, is trained by Kenny McPeek, who said he hopes for a fast early pace to set up his filly's late run. A second-place finish in the Grade II Pocahontas Stakes last September at Churchill Downs slotted Pangburn as a late-running filly with promise.
"We need speed to soften up the front runners, and hopefully we'll get a dream trip," McPeek said.
Ragsdale, Mason and Felix said they know they'll face challengers from top to bottom today, but when Sarah Sis faced Take Charge Brandi in the Martha Washington, there was no doubt who they had to beat, right down to the final stride.
And Felix said he thought Sarah Sis had taken a slight lead right before the finish.
"Did I think we would win?" Felix said Friday, two months after the tough defeat. "Yes, I did. Yes, I did. Yes, I did."
Ragsdale said he thought so, too.
But those close to Sarah Sis left the track that day full of optimism. They all felt their filly should've won. It was her first trip around two turns, or beyond 7 furlongs. Felix said a hesitation at the start and a wide trip around the first turn cost Sarah Sis 10 lengths.
Felix said he remembers his first time he rode Sarah Sis last summer, when she broke her maiden by 11 lengths at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago.
"It was like kissing a girlfriend for the first time," he said. "You never forget that. She felt like she could go a lot faster, and a lot further, too.
Sarah Sis proved that in the Martha Washington and backed up that performance in the Honeybee. She has qualified for the Kentucky Oaks and, given her connections, has every reason to believe she's good enough to compete with the best fillies in the land.
"There are good fillies in there," Felix said, "but I am very confident."
Sports on 04/04/2015