HOT SPRINGS -- Riders of the horses who finished second and third were more pleased than is usually the case after races.
After the $100,000, 6-furlong Rainbow Miss Stakes for 3-year-old Arkansas-bred fillies at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, their reactions were understandable.
The winner was 2-5 favorite Bye Bye J, a filly loaded with class atypical of state-bred entrants, ridden easily by Oaklawn's leading rider Ricardo Santana Jr. to a 1¾-length victory in 1:11.70 before an estimated crowd of 12,000.
"Ricardo knows how to win races here," Bye Bye J trainer Ron Moquett said. "We didn't have to give him a whole lot of explanation of what to do. We just said, 'Find a good spot and finish up strong.' ''
Santana's task proved even simpler than Moquett's directions.
"We never say it's an easy race," Santana said. "But we have a lot of confidence in her."
"Ricardo said that was just a nice workout for her," co-owner Alex Lieblong said. "He had her pretty well wrapped up coming in."
Staton Flurry's Tiger Bait led the field of eight through an opening quarter of 22.59, with Bye Bye J 3½ lengths back in fourth. Tiger Bait, under rider Ezequiel Lara, led through a half-mile in 47.20. Bye Bye J, by Uncaptured, was third, but no more than a neck behind the leader and packed with momentum adequate to take a 1-length lead at the top of the stretch.
"Turning for home, I could see Tiger Bait was running hard, but still, I wanted to save Bye Bye J today for another race," Santana said. "I didn't want to ride her hard and beat her up, and I didn't need to. She's a really nice horse."
"No matter who's in there, you have to try to win," Moquett said. "Arkansas breds are the type that will upset you on occasion, but she's so classy, and Ricardo rode a smart race."
Tiger Bait, by Oxbow, held on for second, 1¾ lengths in front of third-place All About Clara, by Jonesboro, the field's longest shot at 62-1 ridden by Terry Thompson. Laney's Love finished fourth, 9¼ lengths behind the winner.
Thompson said he knew the race was for second.
"We kind of rode the race like the 8 [Bye Bye J] wasn't in it," Thompson said. "Mine ran her heart out to get a little black type for her for an Arkie bred. She ran a big race."
Lara said Tiger Bait never gave up.
"She kept trying," Lara said. "She wanted to win. She kept digging in. She wanted to catch her, but she ran a real big race. She did her best, and that's all that matters. The winner was much the best, obviously, but mine did her best."
From the moment the entrants were named, there were no questions about which had the class edge. Whereas Bye Bye J entered with a graded-stakes placement to her credit, the Rainbow Miss was the stakes debut for every other filly in the race.
In terms of speed figures, Bye Bye J's slowest rated effort was faster than all but two entrants' fastest. In her lone turf race, at 5 furlongs as a 2-year-old on Nov. 23 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., she earned a 59 Beyer speed figure for a third-place finish. Another Rocket, off at 7-1 in the Rainbow Miss, earned a 60 Beyer for a third-place 6-furlong finish at Oaklawn on April 4. Tiger Bait earned a 59 in her first career start, a 6-furlong maiden win at Oaklawn on Feb. 22.
By comparison, Bye Bye J's top previous Beyer was an 86 from a 6-furlong win at Oaklawn on March 14. She earned an 84 for her second-place finish in the Grade III, 7-furlong Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream on Feb. 2.
Bye Bye J's Rainbow Miss win came three weeks after she finished fifth as the 8-5 favorite in Oaklawn's $150,000, 6-furlong Purple Martin Stakes, a race won by front-runner Break Even.
"I'm not taking anything away from the winner in that race, but she didn't have her day that day," Lieblong said. "We all have bad days."
Sports on 04/21/2019