With the promise of a first meeting between Fionn and Destino d’Oro looming, the Grade 3, $2 million Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational might be the race I have been looking forward to most of all this summer at Kentucky Downs.
If you enjoy turf racing and big fields, Kentucky Downs offers an embarrassment of riches in more ways than one. With big purses the rule, the European-style oval offered an excellent Saturday afternoon card of quality grass racing. Wednesday it will be more of the same with the Dueling Grounds Oaks bringing together a loaded field of 3-year-old turf fillies.
It’s a strong division overall this season, and two of the best hail from the barn of Brad Cox. Fionn is already a Grade 1 winner and deserves top billing. But her stablemate Destino d’Oro might be every bit the young grass filly that Fionn is.
At Kentucky Downs you often can expect the unexpected, but the Cox pair have so much going for them of late they will be tough to beat in a deep and talented field of 12 running 1 5/16 miles Wednesday.
The 2-1 morning-line favorite, Fionn demonstrated her class last time out when she caught Nitrogen on the shadow of the wire to capture the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1) during the Saratoga July 4 festival of racing.
Not only was the win her first in Grade 1 company, but it also was achieved in a course-record time of 1:44.84 for the nine furlongs. The dark bay daughter of Twirling Candy needed to run that fast to give the leading 3-year-old filly in the nation her lone loss this season in seven starts.
Nitrogen since flattered that form when she came back to score a decisive victory on the dirt in the Alabama Stakes (G1). There are no plans to run on the dirt for Fionn, who has a sparkling career record of 7: 5-1-1 running exclusively on the grass for owners George Messina and Michael Lee.
Her thrilling victory in the Belmont Oaks avenged Fionn’s only loss of the year when she finished third behind Nitrogen in the Appalachian Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. After that defeat she came right back to close with a flourish to win the Regret Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.
Like her stablemate, Fionn will be stretching in distance and using the rich race at Kentucky Downs as a prep for an expected start in Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) on Oct. 11. Top rider Flavien Prat once again will be given a leg up in the Dueling Grounds Oaks.
Meanwhile, her stablemate Destino d’Oro does not yet possess the credentials of Fionn, but it looks like only a matter of time for the daughter of Bolt d’Oro.
She also comes into Wednesday’s test off an impressive win in her most recent start. Still lightly raced, Destino d’Oro had shown little early speed in her first career starts. In winning the Pucker Up Stakes (G3) last month at Ellis Park, the bay filly showed off a new running style that proved unstoppable to her competition.
Sitting right off the early pace in a big field, the race favorite exploded when asked by rider Luan Machado and romped home a 3 3/4-length winner at the Henderson, Ky., oval. It was the most impressive race yet for Destino d’Oro, who has been very good in each of her four career starts.
Like Fionn, Destino d’Oro’s performance was further validated by the clock, which revealed a 1:45.64 final time for the nine furlongs over firm turf at Ellis Park.
A standout winner at Kentucky Downs in her career debut last August, Destino d’Oro came right back to fly home and just miss in a three-horse photo in the Jessamine Stakes (G2) at Keeneland in her only other start at 2.
Owned by Steve Landers Racing, the $185,000 2-year-olds-in-training purchase didn’t make it back to the races until June 19, but she picked up right where she left off with an electrifying last-to-first win in a Churchill Downs allowance race.
Destino d’Oro was even more impressive in earning her first graded-stakes victory. Given her newfound tactical speed demonstrated in the Pucker Up, the impressive young filly should allow Machado to place her anywhere he wants in the added distance of the Dueling Grounds Oaks.
At 9-2 on the morning line, she offers an interesting alternative to her more accomplished stablemate Wednesday.
There are several other good, young, turf fillies in the Dueling Grounds Oaks, but the Cox-trained pair of Fionn and Destino d’Oro appear to be the top two. Anything but a victory by one of them would be a surprise.
It promises to be an excellent race on the unusual course at Kentucky Downs and one that will likely lead to bigger things to come for both Fionn and Destino d’Oro.
