May 7, 2005 -- Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC’s Summerly, a daughter of 1990 Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness (Grade I) winner Summer Squall, led from the start and pulled away in the stretch to score an emphatic two-length victory in the 131st running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI) at Churchill Downs.
As a record-shattering Oaks Day crowd of 111,243 looked on, the Steve Asmussen-trained Summerly turned the tables on heavily favored Sis City, whose three-race winning streak included a romp in the Ashland Stakes (GI) at Keeneland in which she had trounced Summerly by nearly 20 lengths.
Sis City and jockey Edgar Prado tracked Summerly through most of the race and challenged for the lead midway around the far turn, but could not go by. The favorite faltered in the stretch and finished fourth.
Live Oak Plantation’s In the Gold rallied late under jockey Rafael Bejarano to finish second while 43-1 shot Gallant Secret finished strongly along the rail to nip Sis City, the 3-5 favorite, for third. The winner covered the 1 1/8-mile distance over a “fast” track in 1:50.23.
Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey was in the saddle aboard Summerly and scored his third victory in the Kentucky Oaks. For the Texas-born Asmussen, the victory in the mile and an eighth race for 3-year-old fillies was one of the highlights of his soaring training career.
“Having my wife and kids here, waiting for them to come to the (winning) picture, I can’t even tell you how that felt,” said Asmussen. “What a great day. It’s definitely the reason we do this.”
Summerly bounced out of the gate to grab the lead in the field of reduced to seven 3-year-old fillies by the late scratches of Aspen Tree and Dance Away Capote. Sis City settled into second, where she stayed until Prado and the daughter of Slew City Slew made their ultimately unsuccessful move on the far turn.
“She broke a little flat so I tried to be sure they didn’t go by me running, but I couldn’t keep up with the other horse,” said Prado. “I tried to put her outside in the clear and she did a little better. I didn’t get a good feeling all the way during the race.”
Summerly had scored emphatic wins in the Fair Grounds Oaks (GII) and Silverbulletday (GIII) over the winter at the Fair Grounds before she threw in her dud in the loss to Sis City in the Ashland. Her Kentucky Oaks victory improved her career record to 5-0-1 in eight races and added $343,728 to her career bankroll.
“Obviously we are very pleased with the result,” Asmussen said. “The Ashland definitely was a bad race. Watching the race live from the apron when she went by, she was very comfortable and you could see she was going to have a chance to show she can run. The Ashland was such a bad race for her. It was simply not her day.”
Asmussen, whose 555 victories last year set a record for wins in a season by a trainer, gained a measure of satisfaction in beating Sis City. He had trained the latter before she was claimed for $50,000 by trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. from a maiden claiming race last summer at Saratoga.
Sis City became the heaviest losing favorite in the Kentucky Oaks since Urbane, a 3-to-10 shot, finished second to Gal In A Ruckus in 1995.
“She just broke flat-footed,” said Dutrow. “But I thought she was going to win it on the far turn. Once he got her clear on the outside, he just couldn’t keep up. I’m not disappointed with the setup, we knew she could rate just off the pace, I’m just not happy with the outcome.”
The crowd for the 131st Oaks easily eclipsed the previous record attendance of 106,156 recorded in 2000. The preliminary total for on-track wagering totaled a record $12,065,134 – up 9.4 percent over last year’s record total of $11,015,102.