Longtime New York owner/breeder William "Buck" Butler earned his first graded stakes win May 3 on one of racing's biggest stages—Kentucky Oaks (G1) day—with My Mane Squeeze's two-length score in the Eight Belles Stakes (G2).
Originally, Butler said he and co-owner WinStar Farm had hoped to be in the Oaks, but after a lackluster effort in the Fantasy Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, the target became the seven-furlong Eight Belles.
The 3-year-old dark bay or brown filly by Audible out of Butler's In Spite of Mama distinguished herself winning three state-bred stakes last fall and early this year.
Butler sold half the filly to WinStar, prior to the Fantasy, where the connections said she wasn't herself that day because she was in heat.
"That (the Oaks) didn't pan out, and we had some success at the shorter distance and I've got a partner now that's pushing me and a trainer (Mike Maker) that knows what the hell he's doing."
Asked if the decision to sell to WinStar was tough, Butler said, "If you ask WinStar, yeah, because I really didn't want to sell. We're becoming very good partners, but I like making my own quick, stupid decisions and thank God that (WinStar president/CEO and racing manager) Elliott (Walden) was here. He got some sanity in me."
The win capped a big week for Butler. The filly's half brother Rotknee, also owned by Butler and trained by Maker, won the Affirmed Success Stakes May 2 at the Belmont at the Big A meet. Butler said Maker joked that it was a heck of a week for Butler. Butler said it actually started April 28.
"The one we won on Sunday, I got claimed in," Butler said. "I thought that was going to be the high of the week."
Butler almost didn't stick around to see the Eight Belles with overcast, humid conditions at Churchill Downs with intermittent showers.
"With the rain and the heat, I said to my wife, I'm going home, but she made me stay," Butler laughed. When he saw My Mane Squeeze in the paddock, "I was overjoyed when I saw her ... She looked her old self here."
Maker agreed, noting that her post position 10 in an 11-horse field would dictate the race for her and jockey Luis Saez.
"She had an outside post, and that really handcuffed Luis," Maker said, adding he "figured she'd be forward. And the way she broke, and the way she acted in the paddock and in the gate, I was pretty confident."
She tracked the leaders down the backstretch before beginning a sweeping move around the far turn and getting the lead just before the eighth pole.
"I said it to my wife as it happened," Butler said, "I said this is where she goes and she did. She likes that move right there and she kept it up too."
She finished the seven furlongs on the sloppy main track in 1:22.85.
"My horse handled the off track beautifully today," Saez said. "She traveled great the entire backstretch and was in a very comfortable position. You can tell by my silks that they are still clean and I think that helped her down the lane. We stayed out of all the kickback and she got stronger as we got closer to the wire."
Next up will be the June 7 Acorn Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course's Belmont Stakes (G1) meet.
"That's what we want," Butler said. "Look at it. Seems like that's the way she runs. We're very very happy with this, this plays right into what my dreams were."
Juddmonte's Impel finished second after running inside the eventual winner down the backside. Trainer Brad Cox said he was "pretty happy" with her effort after finishing third in the Ashland Stakes (G1) last month at Keeneland. "I thought she set a good trip. The winner kind of got away from her there, but (she) finished up well. And I think she might be better around one turn. She's still young, developing and hopefully she got something out of this, and we'll move forward."
Cox said he didn't know yet what race that would be.
Cox was running through a variety of possibilities for the off-the-board finish by 4-5 favorite Denim and Pearls, who entered off a 9 1/4-length win last month in the Beaumont Stakes (G2) at Keeneland. She finished seventh.
Denim and Pearls "just offered a little run to the three-eighths, didn't last that long," Cox said. She "just kind of flattened fairly quick, maybe run back too fast, not sure she liked the wet track. We'll just have to regroup."
The victory in the 69th running of the $534,340 Eight Belles for 3-year-old fillies gave My Mane Squeeze her fifth win in eight starts and increased her earnings to $604,110.
My Mane Squeeze returned $15.84 to win. Asternia finished third.
Going into Friday, Audible was the leading North American second-crop sire with progeny earnings of $1,789,038. In addition to My Mane Squeeze, the son of Into Mischief has been represented in 2024 by runners such as Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T) winner Life's an Audible and Weber City Miss Stakes winner Call Another Play. Audible stands at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., for $15,000.
