LOUISVILLE – Cheered on by the record crowd of 101,034, Silverbulletday cruised home as the heavy favorite yesterday in the Grade 1, $551,000 Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs. Dream Gallore finished two lengths back in second with Sweeping Story another 43/4 back in third.
The victory was the 10th in 11 starts and seventh in a row for the 3-year-old daughter of Silver Deputy, pushing her earnings to $2,091,750. No horse in history of either sex has hit the $2 million plateau so early in its career.
”She was awesome,” trainer Bob Baffert said. ”She’s a great filly. If we’d have lost here, I’d have to be locked up. If you’re 1-9 you better win, and we had that record crowd. If she gets beat, half of them wouldn’t come back.
”Now we’ve got a shot at a Derby double.”
Baffert has General Challenge, Excellent Meeting and Prime Timber running for the roses today. No trainer has won the Oaks and Derby in the same year since Ben Jones in 1952. Silverbulletday’s owner Mike Pegram won last year’s Derby with Real Quiet.
Silverbulletday, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies here last November and is 5-for-5 at Churchill, was the easiest of winners in the seven-horse field. Next to last early under Gary Stevens, she moved into contention leaving the backstretch, then swept to the lead without urging while wide on the far turn.
After opening daylight turning for home, Silverbulletday was never threatened as Stevens looked back in vain for competition. She ran the mile and an eighth in 1:49.4 and paid $2.20, topping a $9.80 exacta.
”She’s as good a filly as I’ve ever ridden, and I’ve ridden some good ones,” Stevens said. ”She’s very, very special.
”I felt tremendous pressure to win this race, the most in 20 years of riding. I knew the only way this filly was going to get beat was if I messed up. I’ve never ridden as big a lock as this.
”If I have as much horse at the quarter-pole [in the Derby on General Challenge], we’re talking about doing the double.”
All week long. Baffert has been saying he might be the only man ever to run the Derby favorite in the Oaks but he wasn’t second-guessing himself yesterday.
”I’ve got to commend Mike,” he said. ”He could have told me to run this filly in the Kentucky Derby but he stayed firm. He wanted to win this race and we did.”