Through her juvenile campaign and now in her 3-year-old year, Shortleaf Stable's Quietside has proven herself among the best in the sophomore filly division. Now, she has can prove herself further as she defends her home dirt against the undefeated Simply Joking in the $750,000 Fantasy Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park March 29.
The Fantasy offers Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale.
Quietside may have won just once in her four juvenile performances, but the Malibu Moon filly held her own at the top level with the defeats being two grade 1 placings to subsequent champion 2-year-old filly Immersive and a grade 2 placing against likely Kentucky Oaks (G1) favorite Good Cheer.
Jockey Jose Ortiz, who returns to ride Saturday, worked out the perfect trip from an outside position in the Feb. 23 Honeybee, guiding Quietside to a one-length victory for her first graded triumph. Since that effort, she has logged three works at Oaklawn for trainer John Ortiz, including a five-furlong bullet in :59 3/5 March 16.
Video: Honeybee S. (G3)
"Maintenance," Ortiz told Oaklawn publicity about the follow-up March 23 workout in which she covered four furlongs in :49 under jockey Ramon Vazquez. "We already know she's fast. She looked really good. Ramon jumped off the horse and he called me right away. He says, 'Johnny, I got a little tingle in my tummy when I went down the stretch because she really knows how to stretch out.' Nice maintenance, felt great, galloped out nicely, he said. He said all the gears lined up."
She will likely need all the gears working fluidly Saturday as she competes against Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots invader Simply Joking. Trainer Whit Beckman and owners Grantley Acres, Ryan Conner, and Berkels0813 have always had a lot of faith in this daughter of Practical Joke , debuting her in the Letellier Memorial Stakes Dec. 21.
She broke her maiden by a neck that day and bounced back for a wire-to-wire victory over a sloppy track in her two-turn debut: the Jan. 18 Silverbulletday Stakes. The filly was entered as the top opponent to Good Cheer in the Feb. 15 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2), but had to scratch with a minor illness.
Back on the work tab March 2, she worked a bullet five furlongs March 7 at Fair Grounds. Regular rider Jaime Torres makes the trip to ride as the 8-5 morning-line favorite.
Eight other sophomore fillies will try to upset the two favorites, including James Ball, Magdalena Racing, and Kenneth Rhodes' Take Charge Milady. The 6-1 third choice, Take Charge Milady defeated Quietside by 5 3/4 lengths in the Jan. 25 Martha Washington Stakes.
The Kenny McPeek trainee appeared to have a throw-out race in the Honeybee after she was shuffled back to last of 13 early and continued to face traffic before finishing 10th. Brian Hernandez Jr. takes over in the saddle as last year's Fantasy-winning jockey/trainer duo reunite from the rail position.
The remainder of the field includes last-out Sunland Park Oaks winner Runnin N Gunnin for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, stakes-placed California Sunset for trainer Brad Cox, Honeybee fourth-place finisher Necessity for Norm Casse, and last-out maiden winner Princess Aliyah for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.
Oaklawn Park, Saturday, March 29, 2025, Race 12Entries: Fantasy S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Take Charge Milady (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 122 Kenneth G. McPeek 6/1 2 2California Sunset (KY) Florent Geroux 118 Brad H. Cox 12/1 3 3Kinzie Queen (KY) Francisco Arrieta 118 Greg Compton 10/1 4 4Princess Em Too (KY) John R. Velazquez 118 Philip D'Amato 15/1 5 5Quietside (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 John Alexander Ortiz 2/1 6 6Necessity (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 118 Norm W. Casse 10/1 7 7Simply Joking (PA) Jaime A. Torres 122 D. Whitworth Beckman 8/5 8 8Baytown Butterfly (KY) Marshall Mendez 118 Paul McEntee 30/1 9 9Princess Aliyah (KY) Nik Juarez 118 D. Wayne Lukas 12/1 10 10Runnin N Gunnin (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Steven M. Asmussen 20/1
