By Jarrod Horak
The Grade 3 UAE Oaks and Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes were the latest road to Kentucky Oaks 2024 points races. In this report, I will look back at those races and update my “Fabulous 5” Oaks contenders. The Cincinnati Trophy on March 1, the Busher and Davona Dale on March 2, and the Santa Ysabel on March 3 are the next four Kentucky Oaks points races.
Kentucky Oaks 2024 Points Race Recaps
UAE Oaks (2-23-24)
Final Time (1900 meters at Meydan): 200.81
Top 5 Finishers: Manama Gold, Mizzyaan, Lightning Paradise, Kibo Misaki, Fatinah
Manama Gold was the strong favorite and she was able to secure a very easy lead vs. five rivals. She maintained a comfortable advantage throughout and was able to stay clear and win by a bit more than a length. My top choice Mizzyaan was much improved in her second start. She chased Manama Gold from second and tried to make a race of it, but the winner had sufficient energy left for the stretch drive. Mizzyaan never stopped trying and was cutting into the winning margin in deep stretch. Lightning Paradise was best of the rest in third, and Kibo Misaki found her best stride too late and was a clear fourth. If I was going to play a horse out of this race, Mizzyaan would be that runner. She missed the break in her bow and was vastly better in this race. The daughter of Justify has upside for trainer Doug Watson. As for the Manama Gold, the Louisiana-bred daughter of Star Guitar is now 3-for-3 and picked up 50 Oaks points for her victory in this race for trainer Fawzi Nass. None of the fillies in this race were nominated to the Kentucky Oaks. The deadline to nominate is April 10.
