Owner Alex Campbell loves filly Karlovy Vary's chances in the Kentucky Oaks. The 84-year-old Campbell knows a winner when he sees one.
Karlovy Vary took an early lead and easily beat favorite Stephanie's Kitten on Saturday in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland.
''We've entered her (in the Oaks). We entered her a month ago,'' said Campbell, who won the 1998 Kentucky Oaks with Goodbye Halo. ''We've won a couple of big ones in our lifetime, but that's not a lot in 60 years.
''We love this filly. She looks good.''
The 3-year-old, sired by Dynaformer, is headed to Churchill Downs to continue training for the year's biggest race for fillies on May 4. A change in strategy has netted her two straight victories. Still, questions remain about her abilities on dirt after this victory in 1 minute, 44.82 seconds for 1-1/16 miles on the Polytrack surface.
''She should get better," trainer Russ Arnold said. "We are not convinced she won't run on the dirt. She's trained extremely well on the dirt. Her one dirt start, it was a disaster. We think there were some reasons.
"She wasn't mentally mature to do it. If she proves that she can't go on the dirt, she'll be a tough grass filly the rest of the year.''
Still, Arnold said he believes the missteps she took in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill have been corrected. In that race, she never got close to the rail and slowed in the backstretch to finish seventh.
''Everybody's going to look at this race and say, `It's a turf horse; she ran good on the Poly,''' Arnold said. ''Maybe they're right; I don't know. I'm going to try to prove them wrong. I'm going to have some concerns, but I also know I've got a pretty good horse.''
There was never a question in this race with jockey James Graham aboard.
Karlovy Vary, at 15-1 odds, set the pace near the rail, took a two-length lead over Hard Not to Like in the stretch and won by three-quarters of a length to pay $32.80 for a $2 win bet. She got early pressure from Lotta Lovin, then held off Hard Not to Like and Stephanie's Kitten for her third career win in six starts.
Stephanie's Kitten, who went off at even money, finished third.
''If nobody else wanted (an early lead), we were going to be there anyway,'' Graham said. ''We just took her on and let her do her thing.''
It was a similar run to Karlovy Vary's last race, when she stayed near the front from the start to win an optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park in Florida in February.
''We didn't think there was a lot of speed in the race. We knew she would be close and I left it up to him. I said if you leave and no one is going, you go ahead and go,'' said Arnold, who knew his horse was in good shape after the first half mile was run at 48.97 seconds. ''She gets in that cruising mode and they weren't going that fast.''
It was a disappointing run for Stephanie's Kitten, who was coming off a four-month layoff after victories in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes in October followed by the Grade 2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November.
''I think maybe the outside post hurt a little bit, but other than that we had a good race,'' jockey Julien Leparoux said. ''When I asked her, she tried, but she just did not have a very good kick.''
Owner Ken Ramsey's granddaughter and the horse's namesake, Stephanie, was in tears after the loss, but Ramsey said the plan remains for the filly to run in the Coronation Stakes in England instead of the Oaks.
''The goal is to go to Royal Ascot,'' Ramsey said. ''We'll get another race in her at Churchill or Arlington Park or someplace, and if she goes forward, we're still going.''
