Tequilita Hopes to Go Distance in Gulfstream Oaks

Overlooked prior to her 14-1 upset of the Forward Gal Stakes (G2) six weeks ago, Dorothy Alexander Matz's homebred Tequilita figures to be one of the horses to beat when she returns to Gulfstream Park April 1 for the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2).

The 1 1/16-mile Gulfstream Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies offers points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, with a 100-40-20-10 allotment to the top four finishers.

Trained by Michael Matz for his wife, Tequilita takes a three-race win streak into the Oaks. She broke her maiden at Keeneland and captured the Smart Halo in her stakes debut at Laurel Park last fall, both as the favorite, and captured the Forward Gal Feb. 4 at Gulfstream in her first race in 11 weeks. She currently ranks 16th on the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) leaderboard with 10 points.

WINCZE HUGHES: Tequilita Makes Matz Proud in Forward Gal

"I thought she ran a big race. The big thing is she's starting to wait and relax. We want to see if we can stretch her out to two turns, which I think she will. After this race we'll see which way we want to go—if we want to stick to two turns or stay at one turn," Matz said. "She's done well and she's trained well up to this. We'll just have to see if she can get the two turns."

Given the gap between the end of her 2-year-old campaign and her sophomore debut, Matz opted to skip the one-mile Davona Dale (G2) March 4 at Gulfstream and point for the Oaks. Five of Tequilita's six starts have come at seven furlongs or less, the exception being a one-mile maiden special weight in September at Laurel, where she finished second as the favorite to eventual grade 1 winner Dancing Rags.

"I just thought it would be too much to do all of them that quickly," Matz said. "We're just teaching her to relax a little. Her mother could get a mile and I think she can get this. Her father went up to a mile and a half, so I think a mile and a sixteenth or a mile and an eighth should be within her reach."

 

Matz trained Tequilita's sire, 2012 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Union Rags  , as well as her dam, Sangrita, a grade 2 winner at one mile. Sangrita was also bred and owned by Matz's wife.

 

"She has traits of her mother and traits of her father, too," Matz said. "She's a horse that was a little green in some things early. The race that she ran at Laurel when she ran the mile, she just got the lead too early. She's a filly that needs to wait a little bit and kind of make one run."

 

Taking aim at the Oaks out of the Davona Dale are Jordan's Henny, second by a half-length to multiple graded stakes winner Miss Sky Warrior at odds of 19-1, as well as Modacious and Brahm's Cat, who ran fourth and fifth, respectively.

 

E. Ervine Woolsey and Ralph Kinder's Jordan's Henny, by Henny Hughes, went winless in her first six starts before breaking her maiden going a mile Dec. 18 at Gulfstream. She returned with a solid effort in the Davona Dale, where she dueled for the lead throughout but didn't have enough left to hold off the winner.

"We're very pleased with the way she came out of the last race. The filly thinks she won," said trainer Mike Tomlinson. "She came back bouncing and having a good time. Unless something changes, we expect a good race out of her."

The field includes a pair of fillies from trainer Mark Casse in Salty and Summer Luck. Salty comes off a 2 1/2-length maiden triumph March 5 at Gulfstream, while Summer Luck will make her fourth start of the meet after finishing third in the Old Hat and Davona Dale and fourth in the Forward Gal.

 

Repole Stable's Nonna Bella, undefeated in two starts this winter at Gulfstream, is entered to make her stakes debut for Todd Pletcher. The Stay Thirsty   filly beat Salty by a neck in her debut Feb. 4 and came back with a length victory in a seven-furlong optional-claiming allowance March 10.

 

Spring Mist, Shezaprado, and Conquest Sorceror complete the field.    

Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, April 01, 2017, Race 11

• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:57 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Conquest Sorceror (KY)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	122	Rasharn Creque	50/1
2	2Tequilita (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Michael R. Matz	5/1
3	3Summer Luck (KY)	Patrick Husbands	122	Mark E. Casse	6/1
4	4Spring Mist (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	William E. Deaton	30/1
5	5Jordan's Henny (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	122	Michael A. Tomlinson	8/1
6	6Salty (KY)	Joel Rosario	122	Mark E. Casse	9/5
7	7Nonna Bella (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Todd A. Pletcher	2/1
8	8Shezaprado (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	122	Michael J. Maker	20/1
9	9Modacious (KY)	Nik Juarez	122	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	15/1