SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y--Undefeated Laurelin, trained by Graham Motion, won the Gr2, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational, a 1 3/16 mile Mellon turf race,on Saturday, Aug. 9 to keep her perfect record intact.
Laurelin in the winners circleWinning by 1 3/4 lengths, the 3-year-old chestnut filly is undefeated in five starts, all on the turf, beginning with a Maiden win at Belmont followed by wins at Aqueduct in the Tepin Stakes last November and the Memories of Silver Stakes in April and then the Penn Oaks Stakes at Penn National in June.
“It’s very hard to go 5-for-5 and I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse do that before,” said Motion. “A lot of things have to go right, and they have to be very good. I feel like we’ve done right by her and tried to go step-by-step and this was a logical time to go into a graded race.
“IT'S ALWAYS a surprise when a horse does what she’s done, but we’ve always thought she was that quality,” Motion said. “She always acted like she was one of my best 2-year-olds last year."
“Before we got to the first turn, I already got my filly where I need to be sitting fourth, couple other horses behind me,” jockey Kendrick Carmouche said. “I thought the three horses that could have beat me were the two in front of me [Totally Justified and Opulent Restraint] and the one inside of me [Evershed].”
Laurelin advanced through the final turn, moving easily to the outside of Opulent Restraint, cruised beyond Opulent Restraint and Totally Justified and powered home to win in a final time of 1:52.60.
“I kept this filly in the clear because I didn’t want nobody to come outside of me, she did everything on her own,” Carmouche said. “When I was ready to ask her at the top of the lane, she exploded herself. This horse is a Grade 1 horse, you can feel the confidence and the relaxedness in this horse - to become a good horse - that’s what we look for in this industry and I think I really got one with this one.”
“She seemed like she was always traveling very comfortably, and I felt confident throughout the race,” Motion said. “I think Kendrick did, too, he just said it was a matter of when he asked her to go. I loved where she was and obviously it’s easier in a smaller field, but Kendrick has a great rapport with this filly, and she puts him in a nice spot."
“I must say, the only trouble is neither the owner nor myself have ever been there when she’s ran, so I think we’re both going to have to stay away from now on,” said Motion, with a laugh.
Motion indicated Laurelin could go the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Oct. 11 at Keeneland.
“I’d love to go to the QEII, that’s the Grade 1 that everybody likes to win with 3-year-old fillies. How we get there, I don’t know, but that’s a race I would like to put a circle around,” Motion said.
