American Oaks
Encyclopedia
The American Oaks Invitational Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race
run annually in early July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California
. Open to three-year-old fillies
, it is contested at a distance of one and one-quarter miles on turf
.
Since its inception in 2002, it has striven to become a world class race by bringing in some of the best fillies from all over the world, offering a purse of US $750,000.
The American Oaks was first run as a Grade I event in 2004. Prior to 2004, it was a listed stakes race.
The inaugural running of the American Oaks ended with a disqualification, as Dublino was disqualified from first place to second after several incidents happened with Megahertz
(GB) on the track.
After an inquiry, it was shown that Dublino had bumped Megahertz in the stretch drive, and then the whip of jockey Kent Desormeaux
hit Megahertz twice in the face, making Megahertz end the race a half-length behind.
with Dress To Thrill (IRE), Dermot Weld pushed for another win at Hollywood Park, as Dimitrova under David R. Flores
drove to a win at the second running of the American Oaks, defeating Sand Springs.
status, the field of horses had a diversified mix, the most notable horse being Dance in the Mood (JPN), a descendant of famed racehorse Sunday Silence
. However, the favorite came up short.
By trapping Dance in the Mood at the rail and staying outside, Ticker Tape (GB) then drove past Dance in the Mood, and securing the win.
Some people who have seen the race feel that Dance in the Mood's loss may have in part been her jockey's error in judgement. Her jockey, Yutaka Take
did not seem aware of the location of the Hollywood Park turf course finish line, and made a move that was just a little bit too close to the finish line to result in victory.
, trounced the favored and previously undefeated Melhor Ainda, racing away with a sizable four-length margin of victory. Cesario became the first Japanese-bred and Japan-based racehorse in nearly a half-century to win a US stakes race (Hakuchikara won the Washington's Birthday Handicap at Santa Anita
in 1959 upsetting US champion Round Table), and avenged the second place finish of Japan's Dance in the Mood, the favorite in the 2004 edition of the race who lost to British-bred Ticker Tape by a length.
Cesario's 2005 American Oaks win was big news in Japan, as Japanese media swarmed Cesario and her rider (famed Japanese jockey Yuichi Fukunaga) in the winner's circle as the Japanese flag waved over an American holiday weekend. Before the race, Japan TV broadcast a one-hour long TV show live from Hollywood Park about Cesario and her run at the American Oaks. The race was then broadcast live in Japan, where it was already Monday. Prior to the American Oaks, Cesario had won the Japanese Oaks, also known as the Yushun Himba
(http://jra.jp/vi/doc/vg_g1bn/asx/05oaks_dsl.asx).
(CAN) in the invitational's fifth running. Trained by Eclipse Award
winner Todd Pletcher
, Wait A While was making just her second career start on the turf. Jockey Garrett Gomez stalked the early pace set by Attima (GB) and made a sweeping three-wide move around the second turn, clearing the field under mild left-handed urging. The connections had to wait several minutes for the race to be declared official after Alex Bisono, rider of Foxysox, alleged interference against Wait a While. Bisono claimed that Wait a While forced him to take up near the quarter-pole as the winner was making her sweeping move to the front of the pack. However, stewards disallowed it, saying Attima caused the traffic problem.
and Cambina was the first in a Grade I
at Hollywood Park since the Richard Mandella
-trained pair of Beautiful Melody and Reluctant Guest finished on even terms in the Beverly Hills Handicap
on June 30, 1990. It was also the first Grade I victory for both fillies.
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
run annually in early July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
. Open to three-year-old fillies
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, it is contested at a distance of one and one-quarter miles on turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
.
Since its inception in 2002, it has striven to become a world class race by bringing in some of the best fillies from all over the world, offering a purse of US $750,000.
The American Oaks was first run as a Grade I event in 2004. Prior to 2004, it was a listed stakes race.
Winners
| Year |
Winner |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
| 2011 | Cambina | Martin Garcia Martin Garcia (jockey) Martin Garcia is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who rides from a base in Southern California.He emigrated to the United States in 2003 and went to work at a delicatessen in Pleasanton, California... |
Jeff Bonde | Bilich/Cline/Schmitt plus | 2:01.46 |
| 2011 | Nereid Nereid (horse) Nereid is an American Thoroughbred filly, sired by Rock Hard Ten out of Belong To Me mare Dowry.She is owned by Eric N. Kronfeld, that also owned Vertigineux dam of champion Zenyatta; he also owns a two-year-old Zenyatta sister named Eblouissante. She is trained by John Shirreffs... |
Joe Talamo | John Shirreffs John Shirreffs John A. Shirreffs is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Based in California, Vietnam War veteran John Shirreffs began training Thoroughbreds in 1978. He has won a number of stakes races with his most important coming in the 2005 Kentucky Derby when Giacomo scored a major upset... |
E.N. Kronfeld | 2:01.46 |
| 2010 | Harmonious | Martin Garcia Martin Garcia (jockey) Martin Garcia is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing who rides from a base in Southern California.He emigrated to the United States in 2003 and went to work at a delicatessen in Pleasanton, California... |
John Shirreffs John Shirreffs John A. Shirreffs is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Based in California, Vietnam War veteran John Shirreffs began training Thoroughbreds in 1978. He has won a number of stakes races with his most important coming in the 2005 Kentucky Derby when Giacomo scored a major upset... |
Pam and Marty Wygod | 2:01.77 |
| 2009 | Gozzip Girl | Kent Desormeaux Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:... |
Tom Albertrani Tom Albertrani Thomas "Tom" Albertrani is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He began his career as a jockey then spent a number of years as an assistant to trainer Bill Mott. In 1995 Albertrani was hired as an assistant to head trainer Saeed bin Suroor at the prominent international Godolphin Racing... |
Farnsworth Stables | 2:00.22 |
| 2008 | Pure Clan | Julien Leparoux Julien Leparoux Julien R. Leparoux is a Champion jockey currently racing in the United States.Leparoux, grew up in a racing family, the son of a jockey turned assistant trainer. He worked at the Chantilly Racecourse as a stable hand and in January 2003 emigrated to California to work as an exercise rider for... |
Robert E. Holthus Robert E. Holthus Robert E. "Bob" Holthus was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. As a second generation trainer, Holthus learned the profession from his father, Paul Holthus.... |
Lakin/IEAH Stables IEAH Stables IEAH Stables operates a thoroughbred horse racing stable in the United States. It is based in Garden City, New York.IEAH was formed in 2003 by Michael Iavarone, Michael Sherack and Richard Schiavo. Current IEAH employees include Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens as a bloodstock agent and Mike... /Pegasus St |
2:00.50 |
| 2007 | Panty Raid Panty Raid (horse) Panty Raid, a grade I winner on dirt and turf, a millionaire daughter of Include raced for the Greathouse family’s Glencrest Farm and Dan Taylor. Panty Raid was nominated for an Eclipse Award for the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2007 but finished a close third behind Octave... |
Edgar Prado | Todd A. Pletcher | Glencrest Farm LLC | 2:01.53 |
| 2006 | Wait A While | Garrett Gomez Garrett K. Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez is an American thoroughbred jockey.-Early career:Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States... |
Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher is a leading American thoroughbred horse trainer. He has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding Trainer of the Year, while topping the leader board in purse earnings in 2004, 2005, and 2006. His horse Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the first of his 24 horses... |
Arindel Farms | 1:59.38 |
| 2005 | Cesario | Yuichi Fukunaga | Katsuhiko Sumii Katsuhiko Sumii is a Japanese horse trainer.He trained the first and second placing horses in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues and Pop Rock.- Famous Horses :* Delta Blues - Won Melbourne Cup , Kikuka Sho (born March 28, 1964, Kanazawa, Ishikawa) is a Japanese horse trainer.He trained the first and second... |
Carrot Farm | 1:59.03 |
| 2004 | Ticker Tape | Kent Desormeaux Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:... |
James M. Cassidy | J. Ford/D. Pearson/J. Sweesy | 2:01.54 |
| 2003 | Dimitrova | David Flores David R. Flores David Romero Flores is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.His father was a jockey and an exercise rider in Southern California.... |
Dermot K. Weld | Joseph Higgins | 1:59.98 |
| 2002 | Megahertz Megahertz (horse) Megahertz is a Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in France and the United States.Raced at age two, Megahertz made eight starts, compiling a record of 1-1-2. Her only win came in the Prix Hotel du Golf Barriere at the Deauville-La Touques Racecourse... |
Alex Solis Alex Solis Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California... |
Robert J. Frankel | Michael Bello | 2:00:46 |
2002
Megahertz (horse)
Megahertz is a Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in France and the United States.Raced at age two, Megahertz made eight starts, compiling a record of 1-1-2. Her only win came in the Prix Hotel du Golf Barriere at the Deauville-La Touques Racecourse...
(GB) on the track.
After an inquiry, it was shown that Dublino had bumped Megahertz in the stretch drive, and then the whip of jockey Kent Desormeaux
Kent Desormeaux
Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:...
hit Megahertz twice in the face, making Megahertz end the race a half-length behind.
2003
Following a win in the Matriarch StakesMatriarch Stakes
The Matriarch Stakes is an American Grade I turf race for thoroughbred horses run annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California for a purse of $250,000...
with Dress To Thrill (IRE), Dermot Weld pushed for another win at Hollywood Park, as Dimitrova under David R. Flores
David R. Flores
David Romero Flores is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.His father was a jockey and an exercise rider in Southern California....
drove to a win at the second running of the American Oaks, defeating Sand Springs.
2004
With the race under new G1Conditions races
Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...
status, the field of horses had a diversified mix, the most notable horse being Dance in the Mood (JPN), a descendant of famed racehorse Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence
Sunday Silence was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, earning distinction as 1989 American Horse of the Year over American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse Easy Goer. He was foaled in 1986, sired by Halo out of Wishing Well by Understanding. Though he was registered as a dark bay/brown, he was in...
. However, the favorite came up short.
By trapping Dance in the Mood at the rail and staying outside, Ticker Tape (GB) then drove past Dance in the Mood, and securing the win.
Some people who have seen the race feel that Dance in the Mood's loss may have in part been her jockey's error in judgement. Her jockey, Yutaka Take
Yutaka Take
is a Japanese jockey who is a multiple champion in his homeland and won the Japan Cup in 1999 on the horse Special Week...
did not seem aware of the location of the Hollywood Park turf course finish line, and made a move that was just a little bit too close to the finish line to result in victory.
2005
Horse racing history was made on July 3, 2005, when Japanese-bred Cesario, a granddaughter of Sunday SilenceSunday Silence
Sunday Silence was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, earning distinction as 1989 American Horse of the Year over American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse Easy Goer. He was foaled in 1986, sired by Halo out of Wishing Well by Understanding. Though he was registered as a dark bay/brown, he was in...
, trounced the favored and previously undefeated Melhor Ainda, racing away with a sizable four-length margin of victory. Cesario became the first Japanese-bred and Japan-based racehorse in nearly a half-century to win a US stakes race (Hakuchikara won the Washington's Birthday Handicap at Santa Anita
Santa Anita
Santa Anita may refer to:*Metro Santa Anita, a station on the Mexico City Metro*Rancho Santa Anita, a 13,319-acre land grant given to Hugo Reid*Santa Anita, Baja California Sur, a village in Baja California del Sur, Mexico...
in 1959 upsetting US champion Round Table), and avenged the second place finish of Japan's Dance in the Mood, the favorite in the 2004 edition of the race who lost to British-bred Ticker Tape by a length.
Cesario's 2005 American Oaks win was big news in Japan, as Japanese media swarmed Cesario and her rider (famed Japanese jockey Yuichi Fukunaga) in the winner's circle as the Japanese flag waved over an American holiday weekend. Before the race, Japan TV broadcast a one-hour long TV show live from Hollywood Park about Cesario and her run at the American Oaks. The race was then broadcast live in Japan, where it was already Monday. Prior to the American Oaks, Cesario had won the Japanese Oaks, also known as the Yushun Himba
Yushun Himba
The , also known as the is a Japanese domestic Grade 1 flat horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in May....
(http://jra.jp/vi/doc/vg_g1bn/asx/05oaks_dsl.asx).
2006
Sent off as the third choice in a field of eight, Ocala Horses LLC's Wait A While drew off to an impressive 4½-length victory over 8-5 favorite Asahi Rising (JPN) and ArravaleArravale
Arravale is an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse in Canada. Racing at Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack, at age 2 Arravale won two of her first three starts....
(CAN) in the invitational's fifth running. Trained by Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
winner Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcher is a leading American thoroughbred horse trainer. He has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding Trainer of the Year, while topping the leader board in purse earnings in 2004, 2005, and 2006. His horse Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the first of his 24 horses...
, Wait A While was making just her second career start on the turf. Jockey Garrett Gomez stalked the early pace set by Attima (GB) and made a sweeping three-wide move around the second turn, clearing the field under mild left-handed urging. The connections had to wait several minutes for the race to be declared official after Alex Bisono, rider of Foxysox, alleged interference against Wait a While. Bisono claimed that Wait a While forced him to take up near the quarter-pole as the winner was making her sweeping move to the front of the pack. However, stewards disallowed it, saying Attima caused the traffic problem.
2011
The dead-heat between NereidNereid (horse)
Nereid is an American Thoroughbred filly, sired by Rock Hard Ten out of Belong To Me mare Dowry.She is owned by Eric N. Kronfeld, that also owned Vertigineux dam of champion Zenyatta; he also owns a two-year-old Zenyatta sister named Eblouissante. She is trained by John Shirreffs...
and Cambina was the first in a Grade I
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
at Hollywood Park since the Richard Mandella
Richard Mandella
Richard Eugene Mandella is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame....
-trained pair of Beautiful Melody and Reluctant Guest finished on even terms in the Beverly Hills Handicap
Beverly Hills Handicap
The Beverly Hills Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in June at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The Grade II run over a distance of 1 ¼ miles on turf, is open to fillies and mares three years of age and older....
on June 30, 1990. It was also the first Grade I victory for both fillies.