Eye on the Oaks: Angela Renee

Angela Renee was good enough to go off as the favorite in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
The sister race to the Kentucky Derby, the $1-million, 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks is held annually at Churchill Downs on the Friday before the Derby and restricted to 3-year-old fillies (young female horses). Eye on the Oaks, which will run through the 2015 edition of the race, takes a closer look at fillies who have won important races and could make an impact as we move toward the first Friday in May.
This week we take a look at Angela Renee, the filly who currently sits in third position on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 12 points.

Grade 1 winner Angela Renee closed out her 2-year-old season with a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes in November. The full sister to multiple Grade 1 winner To Honor and Serve with a compelling backstory has been working well toward her sophomore debut on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, which will come in Saturday's Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Racing Résumé
After breaking her maiden in her first try at Belmont in June and earning an Equibase Speed Figure of 83, Angela Renee spent her summer at the Spa competing in Saratoga’s stakes for 2-year-old fillies. She finished second as the favorite in the Grade 2 Adirondack, upping her speed figure to 92, and third in the Grade 1 Spinaway after being bumped at the start on the sloppy track before heading west to try her luck in California.
There Angela Renee showed her class, winning the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita over the same track and distance as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She sat just behind the leaders through the first ¾ mile and pounced at the top of the lane, accelerating to a 1 1/2-length win over Conquest Eclipse. The win earned her a place in the Breeders’ Cup starting gate and a career-high speed figure of 97.
2014 CHANDELIER STAKES

The effort was enough for bettors to make her the favorite for the Breeders’ Cup, but she was again bumped at the start and jockey John Velazquez was forced to check heading into the first turn. Turning for home the pair encountered traffic trouble and Angela Renee came up empty in the stretch. For the first time in her five career starts, she finished out of the money. In fact, she finished tenth of 13.
Connections regrouped and headed for the Grade 2 Demoiselle at Aqueduct on Nov. 29, where Angela Renee finished third. Her 82 speed figure was an improvement on the 74 she earned in the Breeders’ Cup, but still not near her best. After a small freshening she resumed training for her sophomore campaign at Palm Beach Downs near Miami.

Previous Editions ofEye on the Oaks 
Seduire
Take Charge Brandi
I'm a Chatterbox
Birdatthewire
Callback
Overprepared

Running Style
Angela Renee is a stalker that prefers to sit off the pace while others do the running on the front end, though aside from her Chandelier win she has not performed as well around two turns as she did sprinting. That could be an indication of distance limitations, which doesn’t seem likely given her pedigree, or just a sign that her long campaign took a toll on her and she got tired at the end of the year. Her running style is well-suited to the Kentucky Oaks’ 1 1/8-mile distance as long as she can get a clear trip.
Pedigree
Her breeders went so far as to ship her to the Keeneland sale grounds but they thought better of it and Angela Renee has never changed hands. The Siena Farm homebred is by leading sire Bernardini and out of the stakes-winning Deputy Minister mare Pilfer, making her a full sister to sire and multiple Grade 1 winner To Honor and Serve.
Bernardini is an example of a champion racehorse who was able to transfer his racing form to the breeding shed. The 2006 Preakness winner has 329 winners of $38,878,368 through Feb. 15. His offspring include Travers Stakes winners Stay Thirsty and Alpha, millionaire Imperative and the aforementioned To Honor and Serve. His foals generally don’t have trouble staying a route of ground, boding well for Angela Renee’s continued efforts around two turns.
TO HONOR AND SERVE WINNING THE REMSEN

Pilfer won the Go for Wand Stakes at 1 1/16 miles and her offspring seem to do well at longer distances as well. To Honor and Serve won the Grade 1 Woodward and Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles and the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, while her 2010 Street Sense colt, Elnaawi, is a stakes winner around two turns who just finished third in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at 1 1/8 miles.
Angela Renee’s second dam, Misty Hour, was also a stakes winner at a distance, with Grade 2 Cotillion winner India and stakes winner Sing Softly among her six winners from eight starters, and third dam Our Tina Marie is represented by 12 black-type horses.
Fourth dam Java Moon was a graded stakes winner who threw six winners from her six foals that raced, including sires Loose Cannon and Thundering Force, both of which are full brothers to Our Tina Marie. Java Moon’s All My Memories produced multiple Grade 1 winner Memories of Silver who in turn produced multiple Grade 1 winner Winter Memories and graded stakes winner La Cloche. The Java Moon line is also responsible for graded stakes winners Liberian Freighter, Naskra’s Return and Memories.
Time will tell how Angela Renee returns as a sophomore, but with an active family and proven class, she is definitely one to watch as we head toward the Kentucky Oaks.