Steady Salty finishes fifth as Abel Tasman rallies in Oaks

Abel Tasman rallied from last and charged late to win the Kentucky Oaks by 1 1/4 lengths Friday and give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert the victory with his lone entrant in the weekend marquee races at Churchill Downs.

Meanwhile, Salty, the filly co-owned by Chester and Anne Prince of Prince Farm LLP in Palmetto, finished fifth.

“We don’t think of the fact that she was fifth; we look at it that she finished ahead of all of the fillies who were favored ahead of her,” Anne Prince said. “We feel she had a very respectable race, and it bodes well for the rest of her 3-year-old year.”

A rainy day turned the track to mud, a condition neither Salty nor most of the other fillies in the field had run in.

“I don’t think she had even galloped over mud before because there hasn’t been a lot of rain in Florida this year,” Prince said. “We weren’t sure if she would be taken aback by mud hitting her in her face, but we don’t think that affected her.”

Instead, the Princes said they thought the post-position did Salty in. Near the rail offered a firmer bottom on the track, but Salty started 14th and broke well, keeping her well off the rail for a considerable part of the race. That surface partly contributed to a poor day for favorites throughout the day’s race card.

In the Oaks, Abel Tasman ran 1 1/8 miles with Mike Smith aboard in 1 minute, 51.62 seconds and paid $20.40, $9.20 and $6.40. Daddys Lil Darling returned $11 and $6.60, and Lockdown paid $18.40. The superfecta (the top four horses picked in order) paid more than $85,000 on a $1 bet.

As Miss Sky Warrior charged past favorite Paradise Woods through the far turn, Abel Tasman and Daddys Lil Darling also began making their moves on the sloppy track. Abel Tasman got clear in the stretch to win the $1 million marquee race for 3-year-old fillies and make up for her distant second to Paradise Woods in the Santa Anita Oaks.

The Princes said the preliminary postrace check of Salty indicated she had come through the race well, leading to a discussion of the next destination. Though the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico in two weeks is the second race in the filly Triple Crown, the Princes indicated the Acorn Stakes at Belmont is the likely next race for Salty.

“We are really proud of her: She beat all of ones who were more heavily favored and much more accomplished,” Prince said.

This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Steady Salty finishes fifth as Abel Tasman rallies in Oaks."