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British Idiom Leads Full Fantasy Stakes Field

Author: Don Mckee
Published: Thursday April 30, 2020
The $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) is set to run at Oaklawn Park on May 1. The field of 14 is led by British Idiom, whose perfect record was broken after starting her 2020 season.

"She's doing really, really good," said bloodstock agent Liz Crow, who played a part in purchasing the filly as a yearling for the partnership of Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and The Elkstone Group. "Obviously, with everything going on with the coronavirus, it wasn't our plan to run in the Fantasy. We were hoping to run in the (Central Bank) Ashland (Stakes, G1), which would have been the first weekend of April. So she's been ready to go for over a month now. 

"As you know, with horse racing, some horses can get over the top, over-trained, and you worry about them not peaking at the right time. It seems like she's doing really, really well, and that doesn't seem to be a concern with her."

Champion 2-year-old filly of 2019

British Idiom is a 3-year-old daughter of Flashback, and she broke her maiden on debut at Saratoga Racecourse. Trained by Brad Cox, she then went on to be one of the best runners in her divisions. 

British Idiom took the Darley Alcibiades (G1) stakes at Keeneland and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Those victories helped her score the title for champion 2-year-old filly of 2019.

On Feb. 15, British Idiom made her seasonal debut at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. She finished second in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (G2). In that race, she finished 4 3/4 lengths behind Finite. 

According to Crow, the loss was not completely unexpected, since the filly was coming off a more than three-month-long layoff after her Breeders' Cup win. 

Fantasy Stakes

The 1 1/16-mile Fantasy Stakes offers points toward the Sept. 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). They will be awarded on a scale of 100-40-20-10 to the top four finishers. 

Because of her second-place finish in the Rachel Alexandra, British Idiom is on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 50 points. 

"Brad didn't really have her fully cranked for the Rachel so that loss wasn't super surprising with Finite having a little more fitness," said Crow. "I expect to see her a little tighter for this race, and I think we're excited to see what she can do second off a layoff."

British Idiom will break from post 10 under jockey Javier Castellano.

Others in the Field

Also in the field for the Fantasy is Brad Cox's Shedaresthedevil, who scored her first stakes victory in the Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park March 7. 

The Daredevil filly is owned by Flurry Racing Stables, Qatar Racing Limited, and Big Aut Farms. She had 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks and will break from post 7 under jockey Joel Rosario for the Fantasy. 

Another runner in the field is Swiss Skydiver, who finished third in the Rachel Alexandra. Trained by Kenny McPeek, the filly took the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) at Gulfstream Park. 

She will break from post 3 under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. 

Other impressive runners in the field include Godolphin homebred Lake Avenue and Harvey's Lil Goil. 

Lake Avenue is coming off a third-place finish in the Gulfstream Park Oaks. The daughter of Tapit has earned 35 points and is 11th on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. 

Harvey's Lil Goil has not yet run with graded company, but she did earn black-type in her sophomore debut after scoring the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Feb. 2.