Abel Tasman Brings Form to Coaching Club American Oaks

If actions speak louder than words, the move Mike Smith pulled on the far turn in the Acorn Stakes (G1) last month was one of the highest compliments he could pay to the bay filly beneath him.

In a handful of strides, the Hall of Fame rider delivered what he laughingly calls an "NBA crossover-type move." He angled the big-bodied Abel Tasman from the outside toward the two-path, where she proceeded to corner like she was on rails en route to her third grade 1 victory. It was the kind of maneuver Smith knows would have gotten him blasted had it not panned out, which is why he wouldn't have tried it were there any doubt about his partner's ability.

"Once she gets up under herself, she's very athletic and you can do some stuff like that with her," Smith said. "She was obviously the filly to beat and the filly that was second, Salty—her jockey saw me to his outside ... so I kind of tipped out a little farther and they tipped out a little farther, and I shot to the inside and went for broke, and it worked.

"If it didn't work it would have been the stupidest move. I'm happy (Abel Tasman) came out of the race with momentum and we can use that confidence to ship her right back."

The jump Abel Tasman has on her foes in terms of divisional supremacy can further grow July 23, when the daughter of Quality Road   heads up a field of seven entered for the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) going 1 1/8 miles on the dirt at Saratoga Race Course.

With her one-length triumph over fellow Coaching Club entrant Salty in the June 10 Acorn at Belmont Park,  Abel Tasman let it be known that her victory in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1)—considered a mild upset on paper—was actually a warning shot from a filly who had more to offer.

Since joining the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in March, after previously being conditioned by Simon Callaghan, Abel Tasman has taken her already top-level form and added an extra dose of finishing strength.

After she rated last in the field of 14 in the Kentucky Oaks, the bay filly defied the perceived inside bias when she rallied down the middle of the Churchill Downs track to earn a 1 1/4-length victory. Where Smith said his mount previously idled once she struck the front, he felt nothing but continuous power through the Belmont lane during her Acorn triumph.

"She seems to adapt to anything that you show her, and Bob said since the Acorn she's just training unbelievable," said Smith, who was paired with Abel Tasman for the first time in the Santa Anita Oaks (G1), when they ran second to eventual Kentucky Oaks favorite Paradise Woods. "Each race she seems to be getting better, stronger—gets smarter about running. Bob added a little bit of a blinker to her and that has kept her really focused in the lane.

"Before she'd hit the front and have a tendency to want to pull up, but she's been doing really good about going on and finishing the race out and running through the wire really well. She's taken it all very well and is drawing from it."

Owned by Clearsky Farms and China Horse Club, Abel Tasman actually has a history with Smith, which dates back to her juvenile season. She bested her future partner when he finished behind her aboard American Gal in the Starlet Stakes (G1) last December. He then turned the tables when he guided Unique Bella to a 2 1/4-length win over Abel Tasman in the March 4 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3).

"I think she's really grown into herself now. We've just watched her blossom," Smith said. "Her last work (five furlongs in :59 1/5, where she finished five lengths in front of grade 1 winner Mor Spirit) was just brilliant. Hopefully she'll run that way this weekend."

After a fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks, prior to her runner-up Acorn effort, Salty will take her third swing at Abel Tasman. Also a daughter of Quality Road, the Mark Casse-trained Salty captured the April 1 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) in just her third start and was the clear second-best last time out, when she finished 4 1/2 lengths in front of Acorn third Benner Island.

"It's a rematch. We definitely want another chance, and it looks like we're going to get it," Casse said. "If Abel Tasman beats us, then I tip my cap to her and Bob. We talk a lot, and I have the utmost respect for Bob. I think the more respect you have for somebody the more you want to beat them."

Salty is one of three Casse trainees entered in the CCA Oaks, along with Summer Luck, third most recently in the Regret Stakes (G3), and Corporate Queen.

Daddys Lil Darling, second in the Kentucky Oaks and Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1), is returning to the main track after running fourth in the July 8 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T).

Coaching Club American Oaks (G1)

Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, July 23, 2017, Race 10

• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 6:18 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Elate (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	121	William I. Mott	5/1
2	2Abel Tasman (KY)	Mike E. Smith	121	Bob Baffert	8/5
3	3Daddys Lil Darling (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	121	Kenneth G. McPeek	9/2
4	4Corporate Queen (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	121	Mark E. Casse	20/1
5	5Summer Luck (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Mark E. Casse	15/1
6	6Berned (KY)	Rajiv Maragh	121	H. Graham Motion	8/1
7	7Salty (KY)	Joel Rosario	121	Mark E. Casse	5/2