Lola Beaux Takes on Stormy Regatta Again

Gregory Bentley's Lola Beaux, a daughter of Equiano who began her career in Ireland, steps into graded stakes company Sept. 26 when she faces 11 other 3-year-old fillies in the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (gr. IIIT) at Laurel Park.

The 1 1/8-mile Oaks, presented by the Virginia Equine Alliance, highlights an 11-race card at Laurel. First race post is 1:10 p.m. ET.

Lola Beaux, who broke her maiden and finished second twice as a juvenile in Ireland, arrived at trainer Edward Graham's barn in early spring and has not been off the board in three U.S. starts. After winning an entry-level allowance at Penn National Race Course in July and finishing second in an optional claimer at Laurel Aug. 7, Lola Beaux came in third Aug. 27 at Saratoga Race Course in the Riskaverse. She was beaten a neck after relinquishing the lead down the stretch to Stormy Regatta, who is also entered in the Oaks as the 120-pound highweight for trainer Christophe Clement.

With two wins, three seconds and a third in six career starts, Graham believes Lola Beaux is "still learning."

"She was a little green when she ran at Laurel (in August)," Graham said. "To me, she's getting better every race. We liked her when we brought her. She fits our kind of racing."

Lola Beaux has raced close to the pace in some of her races and closed from off the pace in others. No matter where she's raced, she's been a factor in all six of her starts.

"She can do either. It will depend on how the race sets up," Graham said. "She'll do whatever we ask. She's very classy, very pleasant. She gets turned out in the morning before she trains on the farm and sometimes we go to Fair Hill to gallop. She's very happy."

Red Sashay, a winner in three of 10 career starts, including the Honey Ryder at Gulfstream Park in May, enters the Oaks off a fifth-place finish in the Boiling Springs (gr. IIIT) at Monmouth Park Sept. 5 behind Strict Compliance. The Boiling Springs came a month after Red Sashay finished a closing second at Laurel against older mares at a mile on the turf.

The Oaks, said trainer Jane Cibelli, is a step up, but to continue with overnight stakes races doesn't make much sense because she doesn't have anything else to prove.

"Really, what we're trying to do is increase her value," Cibelli said. "If she can hit the board in a graded stakes race then her value increases considerably and we have to make a decision. Do we sell her—she's in the November sale—or race her as a 4-year-old? That's always the problem with these 3-year-olds. It's a big jump, especially with turf horses from three to four. The question that needs to be answered is whether she's good enough to go on and run against older horses next year or do we sell? She's on a turf course this weekend she likes, it does play to closers, so we'll see what she does."