BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida-bred Taken by the Wind, who suffered her first career loss while finishing eighth in the Grade 3 Honeybee last out, looks to return to her winning form and find her way back onto the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (Grade 1) on Friday at Oaklawn Park in the Grade 2 Fantasy for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. In addition to the $1 million purse, the Fantasy offer 200 Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard points to the first five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 schedule.
Taken by the Wind currently sits at No. 14 in the Kentucky Oaks standings with 30 points. Last year Quickick was the last to make the 14-horse Kentucky Oaks field with 34 points while Ways and Means needed 50 points and $108,000 in unrestricted stakes earnings to the make Kentucky Oaks starting gate in 2024.
Trained by Ken McPeek for Magdalena Racing, Terry Bradshaw, Graham Leveston and Rassi Stable, Taken by the Wind won her first three races including the $145,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds in January.
In her first try, she broke her maiden by three lengths against $75,000 optional claiming maiden fillies going seven furlongs in the slop at Saratoga in August then won the Grade 3 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs on September 13.
An earner of $289,460, Taken by the Win is by Rock Your World out of Up for Grabs, by First Samurai and was bred in Florida by Courtney L. Meagher of Citra.
She has drawn post four in the field of six and will be ridden for the first time by Emmanuel Esquivel. She is rated at 15-1 on the morning line.
The even-money favorite is Explora, winner of the Honeybee by three-quarters of a length ahead of Counting Stars in second. Counting Stars is the 5-2 second choice.
Trained by Bob Baffert for Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Explora will be ridden from post six by Flavien Prat.
Trainer Mark Casse will give the leg up on Counting Stars to Francisco Arrieta and they will break from the three post position.
Rounding out the field are Search Party with jockey Cristian Torres, Empath with Ramon Vasquez in the saddle and Stick Shock will have Irad Ortiz Jr. up.
Return to the March 26 issue of Wire to Wire
