Chocolate Martini Ships West for Summertime Oaks

With Chocolate Martini, Double Doors Racing and trainer Tom Amoss are zigging while others are zagging.

While several horses from the West came east to participate in graded stakes a day before the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) or on the Belmont Day undercard, the connections of the Churchill Downs-based Broken Vow  filly saw an opportunity in the $200,000 Summertime Oaks (G2) June 16 at Santa Anita Park.

"Don't get me wrong, coming to California is never easy, so I'm not trying to seem like we've got this, but it's a good spot," Amoss said of the 1 1/16-mile test for 3-year-old fillies, which he said will be his first starter in Southern California outside of the Breeders' Cup. "I'm not ashamed to say that. She ran a respectable race (fifth) in the (Longines) Kentucky Oaks (G1), and to progress and get graded black type is foremost in my mind. This is (a smaller field of six), and no matter how you look at it, we are one of the contenders."

At 9-5 on the morning line, the March 24 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) winner is undoubtedly a contender, and she appears to have a leg up on her opponents. No other entrant is a graded winner—although the speedy Thirteen Squared has placed in multiple graded stakes, including a third-place finish in the Santa Anita Oaks (G1).

CROSBY: Chocolate Martini Determined in Fair Grounds Oaks Upset

Trained by Bob Baffert, Arnold Zetcher's Thirteen Squared, a filly by Liaison , has raced best around two turns (a third in the Santa Anita Oaks and a second in the grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes, both at 1 1/16 miles), but she finished fourth last time out in the seven-furlong Angels Flight Stakes May 12 at Santa Anita. It took her four starts to break her maiden, but she has competed at a high level since.

"She's very fast, and she's been working really well," Baffert said. "The first few times I ran her, I was disappointed, and then we ran her at Los Alamitos (Dec. 7) and she won really nice. She's fast, but I want to get her to settle a little bit."

Thirteen Squared may need to settle behind at least one horse with the entry of Ollie's Candy, who will make her first start on dirt in the Summertime Oaks following two blowout sprint victories on the synthetic main track at Golden Gate Fields.

The Candy Ride  filly trained by Bill Morey won her debut by 6 1/2 lengths April 22, then took a first-level optional-claiming allowance at the same six-furlong distance by 7 3/4 lengths May 13.

Rounding out the field is a second graded stakes-placed runner, Exuberance, along with last-out allowance winner Fool's Paradise and maiden winner Zusha.

Entries: Summertime Oaks (G2)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, June 16, 2018, Race 6

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 3:15 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Thirteen Squared (KY)	Tyler Baze	120	Bob Baffert	5/2
2	2Fool's Paradise (KY)	Tyler Conner	120	Ben D. A. Cecil	4/1
3	3Exuberance (KY)	Gary L. Stevens	120	Ian Kruljac	6/1
4	4Zusha (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	120	Gary Mandella	10/1
5	5Chocolate Martini (KY)	Flavien Prat	124	Thomas M. Amoss	9/5
6	6Ollie's Candy (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	120	William E. Morey	7/2