Duopoly Turns Back Sharing in American Oaks
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Duopoly wins the American Oaks at Santa Anita Park
A filly on the improve, Duopoly upset grade 1 winner Sharing with a frontrunning two-length score in the $302,500 American Oaks (G1T) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park.
Klaravich Stables' 3-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom showed the way throughout in the 1 1/4-mile test under Flavien Prat, with 8-5 favorite Sharing tracking second. Sharing was asked to move past the leader as the field turned for home, but lacked her usual kick. Going to Vegas ran a big race to get second, edging Sharing by three-quarters of a length.
The final time was 2:01.61 on firm turf.
Trained by Chad Brown and making her first start in grade 1 company, Duopoly came in off a victory in the Nov. 15 Winter Memories Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on the lawn at Aqueduct Racetrack. That win came after a fifth Oct. 16 in the Pin Oak Valley View Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland, the filly's first start in the graded ranks. She was sent off at odds of 6-1 in a field of 10 sophomore fillies Saturday, and returned $14 on a $2 win ticket.
"She has been training really well, and she has been doing everything right," said assistant trainer Jose Hernandez. "You cannot come from behind here; you have to be up close to the front.
"She used to run a mile and sixteenth, but now against fillies she wants to take the lead easily with her ears pinned back."
With a hillside start, Duopoly made the lead out of the gate effortlessly and set fractions of :24.91, :49.67, 1:14.89, and 1:38.98 en route to a powerful score.
"I thought on the backside someone was going to hook up with me, but lucky enough nobody did," Prat said. "We had a pretty nice trip. She was full of herself and traveling perfect. When I asked her, she really kicked in. She never really ran the distance but I guess Chad Brown doesn't come out here just to race."
It was the second straight California loss for Sharing, who ran fourth in the Nov. 29 Matriarch Stakes (G1T) at Del Mar. The 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner took the Sept. 4 Edgewood Stakes Presented by Forcht Bank (G2T) at Churchill Downs and won the May 23 Tepin Stakes at the Louisville track—bookending a trip to Royal Ascot, where she was second in the June 20 Coronation Stakes (G1).
Bred in Kentucky by Jamm out of the grade 3-winning Danehill Dancer mare Justaroundmidnight, Duopoly improved her record to four wins from six starts, with earnings of $308,034. She is the first graded winner out of her dam, who was bred to Oscar Performance for 2021 after coming up barren this year. The mare has a yearling Kitten's Joy colt and an unraced, unnamed 2-year-old colt by Quality Road .