The sister race to the Kentucky Derby, the $1-million, 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks is held annually at Churchill Downs on the Friday before the Derby and restricted to 3-year-old fillies (young female horses). Eye on the Oaks, which will run through the 2015 edition of the race, takes a closer look at fillies who have won important races and could make an impact as we move toward the first Friday in May.
This week we look at Birdatthewire, winner of Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Birdatthewire made a stellar debut on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks on Saturday, springing a 12.40-to-1 upset in Gulfstream Park's Grade 2 Forward Gal Stakes. The filly earned 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks in her fifth career start, jumping into 11th place on the leaderboard.
Racing Resume
After needing four tries to break her maiden, Birdatthewire has now scored two consecutive victories. She finished third in her career bow in September and couldn't manage a win in either of her Keeneland starts the following month. The bay filly finally broke through late November, tallying a smart 1½-length victory when closing from midpack at Churchill Downs. Among her vanquished foes in that maiden win was Lassofthemohicans, a filly she would meet again in the Forward Gal.
Trainer Dale Romans showed confidence in his maiden-winning filly by entering her in the Grade 2 Forward Gal where she faced the likes of graded stakes winners By the Moon and Seduire as well as highly regarded Enchantress. Though her Equibase Speed Figures had improved with every race, Birdatthewire was sent off as the fourth-longest price in the field of 11. Her backers were rewarded with a stylish win.
Birdatthewire settled in 10th place under Irad Ortiz Jr. while Enchantress, Ekati's Phaeton and Seduire dueled on the front end, covering a half-mile in 45.36 seconds. While the leading trio began to tire at the top of the lane, Birdatthewire was just launching her bid and swept to the front in midstretch. Her lead widened before Lassofthemohicans closed from seventh to grab second. The final margin of victory was 3¼ lengths, and Birdatthewire earned a 94 speed figure for her efforts.
Running Style
Birdatthewire is a closer, and she does her best running when coming from far back into a quick pace. Her two winning bids began when she was 20 and 10¼ lengths behind and the first half-mile was completed in 45 4/5 seconds and 45 2/5 seconds, respectively. Even when she didn't win, Birdatthewire preferred to be off the pace in fifth or sixth position before commencing a rally. This style is beneficial because she is content to sit and wait for her jockey's cue to run, but a slow pace up front or traffic trouble while weaving her way through the pack could compromise her chances at victory in future races.
Pedigree
A daughter of Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird, Birdatthewire twice went unsold when she went through the auction ring in 2013. The third time proved to be the charm as a final bid of $23,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall 2013 Yearling Sale was enough for her to change hands. Birdatthewire is out of the stakes-placed Wagon Limit mare My Limit, and her pedigree, while light on class, shows potential for stretching out to the Oaks' 1 1/8-mile distance.
The late Summer Bird's first foals are now 3-year-olds, and Birdatthewire is thus far her sire's best. Summer Bird has 11 winners from 32 starters, with one other stakes horse from his first crop, Kid Brock. Summer Bird won the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes as well as the 1 1/4-mile Travers Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes en route to being named champion 3-year-old in his only season of racing.
Birdatthewire's dam, My Limit, did Dale most of her running on the turf and specialized at the 1 1/16-mile distance. Though she spent much of her career in the allowance and upper-level claiming ranks, the mare was stakes-placed at 1 1/16 miles. She has thrown four winners from four starters and Birdatthewire is by far her most accomplished, with earnings that surpass all of her siblings combined as of Jan. 26, 2015.
Her second dam, Piney Woods, has also thrown a fair number of winners, though My Limit was her only stakes foal. Piney Woods' High Brass set a track record at a mile, and Duck Hunt was a winner on the flat and over jumps, indicating plenty of stamina there. Two stakes winners appear under third dam Chatham Light, but one must go back to Birdatthewire's fourth dam, Two for the Show, to find the bulk of her family's class.
Two for the Show was a winning full-sister to One on the Aisle, who captured the Grade 1 San Juan Capistrano over 1 3/4 miles on the turf. Her half-sister Kapalua Butterfly was a graded stakes winner and half-sister Tigresse d'Amour was graded stakes placed. Two for the Show's son Who's to Pay was a multiple graded stakes winner routing on the turf and Lights and Music was a multiple stakes winner.
Birdatthewire is the early star of her ill-fated sire's first crop. Though her family isn't overflowing with class, she should have the stamina to last the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Kentucky Oaks and has already proven to be classy herself.
