200 Kentucky Oaks Points On the Line
BY BROCK SHERIDAN
My Miss Mo is currently just on the outside the bubble in Kentucky Oaks standings and Nasti Z tries for her first such points when the two Florida-bred fillies trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. line up for the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks presented by City National Bank (Grade 2) at Gulfstream Park Saturday. The mile-and-one-sixteenth affair for 3-year-old fillies offers 200 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1), to be run at Churchill Downs on May 1.
The top five finisher will earn 100-50-25-15-10 points respectively in search of one of 14 spots in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate. My Miss Mo sits at No. 20 in the Oaks standings with 25 points and $49,200 in non-restricted stakes earnings. Last year, Quickick was the last to make the Kentucky Oaks starting gate with 34 points while Ways and Means needed 50 points to run in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks.
My Miss Mo earned her points in her last start, finishing second to Oaks-rival She Be Smooth at odds of 26-1 in the Grade 2 Davona Dale presented by Inglis Digital USA at Gulfstream on February 28. It was the first start of the year for the daughter of Uncle Mo, who had previously finished fourth in the $102,000 Sandpiper going six furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs on December 6.
Consigned by de Meric Sales at last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale, My Miss Mo was purchased for $320,000 by owners Averill Racing and Mathis Stable. Tristan de Meric is now a partner in My Miss Mo with Richard Averill of Bradenton, Florida and Bill and Terry Mathis of Oklahoma.
My Miss Mo lived up to her promise in her second start at Gulfstream Park in November, dominating a seven-furlong maiden special weight for Florida-bred fillies by 12 lengths.
My Miss Mo is the first foal out of In a Dream, by Quality Road and was bred in Florida by Valerie Mastromonaco, Tristan de Meric and Uncle Mo Syndicate. In a Dream is a half-sister to Grade 3-winner Harper’s First Ride and stakes-placed Klugman.
Tyler Gaffalione will guide My Miss Mo from post two and they are 5-1 in the program.
Nasti Z makes a big jump into graded stakes company from her first career start, a two-length victory in a $35,000 optional claiming maiden race for fillies going five-and-a-half furlongs at Gulfstream Park on February 21. The bay daughter of Brethren has shown her readiness for the Oaks with two fast breezes, the last of which on March 21 when she clocked four furlongs in :47.60, the second fastest of 70 works at the distance that morning.
Owned by Shining Stables, Nasti Z is by Brethren out of Tequa, by Dialed In and was a bargain $1,500 purchase by Joseph at the 2024 OBS October Yearling Sale where she was consigned by her breeder, Arindel.
Nasti Z is 30-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by Micah Husbands from post three.
Rounding out the field are Betty’s Pearl with Mario Gutierrez named to ride, Just Singing with jockey John Velazquez, She Be Smoth with Flavien Prat getting the return mount and Haute Diva with Joel Rosario up.
Return to the March 25 issue of Wire to Wire
