Street Fancy makes her case to join Road to the Kentucky Oaks

Dec 20, 2015 by Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

Last Saturday saw Street Fancy, a bay daughter by Kentucky Derby (G1) victor Street Sense, upset the Starlet S. (G1) at Los Alamitos by a length.

It wasn’t much of an upset, as the Philip D’Amato trainee was sent off at 6-1, but she still beat more highly regarded rivals in the 1 1/16-mile contest under jockey Mike Smith.

While not many paid much attention to Street Fancy entering the Starlet, they should take note of the filly on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

The Starlet was the final 2015 event in the series of races that award points toward a starting berth in next year’s Kentucky Oaks (G1). Street Fancy earned 10 points while making her graded debut and currently sits in the sixth spot on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard.

Smith put together a nice ride on Street Fancy, a filly he described afterward as being “anxious before the race starts.” According to the jockey, once underway the bay lass settles down and focuses on the business at hand.

That’s what happened in the Starlet, as Street Fancy settled into ground-saving inside trip just a little behind midpack. She maintained that spot down the backstretch with Patriotic Diamond latched on to her outside and keeping her in tight.

Street Fancy began moving around the turn while still toward the rear of the field. She picked off horses making her way ever closer to the front, split Pretty N Cool and Treasuring nearing the wire and got the jump on Stays in Vegas as that one rallied down the center of the track.

The Kentucky-bred miss earned a nice, though not stellar, 94 BRIS Speed rating for her effort in the Starlet. It was her second win from three lifetime starts, so there’s plenty of time for improvement, something that could happen at longer distances.

Street Fancy posted her initial two starts at 5 1/2 furlongs for her maiden win and seven furlongs for a half-length third in the Desi Arnaz S. D’Amato commented that the filly has been crying out for distance and is a “big, giant scopey filly.”

With the Kentucky Oaks five months away, Street Fancy can continue to grow into her body and out of her feelings of anxiousness before a race.

Stays in Vegas reputed herself well in second after stalking just behind front-running Pretty N Cool and outside of Treasuring. She got the best of both those runners but just couldn’t keep up when Street Fancy appeared to her inside.

Pretty N Cool was just caught by the late-running Sutton’s Smile on the wire. That gray daughter of Paddy O’Prado had bided her time well back in last throughout the race. The running style made sense considering that before the Starlet she had put together four straight races on turf, including a rallying third in the Jimmy Durante S. (G3).

Sutton’s Smile might have wanted to be closer to the front but jockey Santiago Gonzalez had a stranglehold on the filly, who is also trained by D’Amato. She moved up nearing turn and began picking off trailers before turning four wide into the stretch.

That’s when Gonzalez finally turned Sutton’s Smile loose and she kicked into gear late to nip Pretty N Cool.