HOT SPRINGS -- The winning rider said his filly's setup was ideal, and it started with the absence of Oaklawn's latest superstar.
Jockey Terry Thompson rode Ours to Run, a 5-year-old Louisiana-bred daughter of Half Hours, to a 3¾-length victory over second-place Mia Mischief, the 1-2 favorite, in the $150,000, 6-furlong Carousel Stakes in 1:10.84 on a sloppy track before an estimated crowd of 16,000 at Oaklawn Park on Saturday.
Ours to Run, off at 7-2, raced comfortably behind three others in the five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 21.94. By the half in 45.12, Ours to Run was third but full of momentum, a head behind Mia Mischief in second and a neck behind the leader Shanghai Tariff.
Ours to Run, trained by Larry Jones, maintained his drive to take a 3-length lead over Mia Mischief out of the final turn. Shanghai Tariff was 4½ lengths back in third. The top two opened another quarter of a length through the wire. Salt Bae finished fourth, 1¼ lengths behind Shanghai Tariff.
Mia Mischief, trained by Steve Asmussen, won her last previous start with a 3-length win at 6 furlongs against optional-claimers at Oaklawn on March 3, but the Carousel was just her second race of the year.
Thompson knew the start likely would have been different if not for the decision of Amy's Challenge's connections to race the 4-year-old, front-running sensation in a Grade I stakes race in Kentucky rather than in the Carousel.
Apparently, several other factors helped, too, including Ours to Run's start out of the No. 6 gate.
"This was the perfect scenario," Thompson said. "We got a short field. Amy goes to Keeneland. I'm on the outside of the speed. It looks like Steve's the one to beat, but she's only had one race this year, and, really, Larry is so easy to ride for. He basically just says, just get her in position to win by the top of the stretch, so my whole race plan was just to keep an eye on Steve's horse."
Amy's Challenge, with a career record of 3-1-1 in five stakes starts at Oaklawn, was entered in the Carousel and established as the 7-5 morning-line favorite, but Novogratz Racing Stables and trainer Mac Robertson decided to race her in Saturday's Grade I, $300,000 7-furlong Madison Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.
The decision was not unexpected. Moments after Amy's Challenge's last start -- an 8¼-length win in the $100,000, 5½-furlong Spring Fever Stakes, in a stakes record 1:03.10 -- Robertson said her next start likely would be either in the Carousel, the Madison or Oaklawn's Grade III, $400,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.
Robertson said Thursday he thought Amy's Challenge was ready for her first graded-stakes attempt of the season, and that the Madison offered her the best chance for success. In the Madison, Amy's Challenge led by half a length at the head of the stretch in a nine-horse field but finished second by a neck to Spiced Perfection.
Her withdrawal from the Carousel left class-heavy Mia Mischief as the clear favorite. The 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief entered the Carousel with a career record in eight stakes starts of 2-4-0.
None of that mattered to the Louisiana-bred with a penchant for off tracks. The win was Ours to Run's third consecutive on sloppy tracks.
"She loves off tracks," Jones said. "I don't know if the other trainers did or not, but when it started raining, we felt pretty good. It was good for us. We've run in the slop a lot of times, and she wins most of them."
It was Thompson's first race on Ours to Run, who now has 11 wins in 18 career starts, but he said he thought he was on a mare with a shot to win after he rode her through a 5-furlong work in 1:02.20 at Oaklawn on Monday.
"The last time I worked her, I raised an eyebrow," Thompson said. "You know Larry does a perfect job, and the way she did that work coming into this, you could tell."
Ours to Run's owner Kevin Atwood said he felt confident from the start, particularly after he watched his horse's fractiousness in the paddock, a behavioral characteristic uncommon among winners.
"Usually you don't want that, but with her, we've seen it a lot now, and she loves the mud," Atwood said. "When it started raining, we were happy."
Sports on 04/07/2019