Kentucky Belle Right at Home in Dueling Grounds Oaks
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Photo: Coady Media/Renee Torbit
Kentucky Belle wins the Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational Stakes at Kentucky Downs
Flavien Prat has racked up wins wherever he has ridden in recent years, including in states such as California and later New York, earning two consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding jockey in 2024-25.
Now he's added Kentucky to his workplace achievements.
On Sept. 9 at Kentucky Downs, Prat won six of the day's 14 races, topped by Kentucky Belle in the $1,995,000 Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T). His banner afternoon on the meet's closing day allowed him to surpass Jose Ortiz as the meet's leading rider.
Kentucky Belle, a homebred for WinStar Farm, saw to it that none of his six wins came any easier than the Dueling Grounds Oaks. The last-out winner of the Saratoga Oaks (G2T) was always traveling smoothly under confident, pace-pressing handling from the French-born jockey, who finally asked his mount to quicken at the head of the stretch. The filly did the rest, opening up and cruising under the finish line 6 3/4 lengths ahead of runner-up Bless Her🔥 .
The Brad Cox-trained winner raced 1 5/16 miles on a firm course in 2:07.45 after tracking pacesetting Call On Me through fractions of :25.29, :48.95, 1:12.56, and 1:36.39. She paid $9.75 for a $5 win wager, the minimum win wager at Kentucky Downs.
Turner's Charm showed.
Kentucky Belle is a dark bay/brown filly by Justify out of the Tiznow mare Dancing Fancy . She is the third of six foals (three to race) produced by her dam and her sole stakes winner.
Justify, the 2018 Triple Crown winner, has developed into a sire with worldwide influence. He stood earlier this year for $200,000 at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
Video: Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational S. (G3T)
Tawny Port, How's Al Today Collect
The Dueling Grounds Oaks was the richest of three stakes on the closing-day program at Kentucky Downs, though the supporting stakes, the Bowling Green Gold Cup Invitational Stakes and the Juvenile Mile Stakes, were plenty lucrative themselves with respective purses of $701,250 and $731,250.
In those supporting events, the ageless 7-year-old Tawny Port notched his second long-distance stakes victory of the year in capturing the Bowling Green Gold Cup over 2 1/16 miles under Prat. He was timed in 3:27.91 and paid $12.50 to win for a $5 win wager.
Lambeth ran second, three-quarters of a length behind Tawny Port, and Greystone was third.
Earlier in the year, Tawny Port won the Belmont Gold Cup Stakes (G2T) at 2 miles—a race that earned him a berth in the Nov. 3 Melbourne Cup (G1) in Australia. Trainer Miguel Clement and owner Peachtree Stable are still pondering whether to accept that invitation or pursue a North American campaign through the fall.
Video: Marsh McLennan Bowling Green Gold Cup Invitational S. (BT)
A race later, How's Al Today wheeled back on short rest to roll by 4 1/2 lengths in the Juvenile Mile, 11 days after winning a 6 1/2-furlong sprint opening day Aug. 29. On Wednesday, he outran BloodHorse Hot Prospect Jas🔥 , the runner-up finisher, in the quick time of 1:34.84. Agate was third. How's Al Today paid $17.85 to win.
Brian Hernandez Jr. was aboard the winner for Riley Mott, who trains the Munnings colt for Al Gold's Gold Square.