The second running (on dirt) of the Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs features a half-dozen promising fillies racing not only for the winner’s share of the $250,000 purse but a virtually guaranteed spot in the starting gate for America’s most renowned race on the first Friday in May, the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs.
In previous iterations, the Virginia Oaks was known as the Commonwealth Oaks when held at Laurel Park in Maryland, and until last year, it was run on turf. The race was switched to the main track last year to become a stop on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifying series, with the Graham Motion-trained Fondly earning 50 points with the win. She would finish 11th at Churchill Downs but went on to win the Delaware Oaks (G3) and finish second in the Monmouth Oaks (G3). The Oaks offers qualifying points of 50-25-15-10-5.
Hall of Fame trainers Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert (who has the 5-2 morning-line favorite Buetane in the Virginia Derby), along with Brad Cox, a three-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks, will be represented in the 1 1/16-mile race around one turn. Maryland-based Brittany Russell has entered Dazzling Dame, currently No. 17 on the Oaks leaderboard, while mid-Atlantic veteran Flint Stites counters with recent Parx maiden winner Somemunny to Love.
Cox will give a leg up to Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard Hit Parade, the 3-1 program choice. Owned by Gary and Mary West, the daughter of Street Sense won three of four starts last year, including the Untapable Stakes at the Fair Grounds, but faltered and finished fifth in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park in her 2026 debut. Cox also trains top Oaks contenders in Paradise, On Time Girl, Sneaky Good, and Life of Joy.
Pletcher, who has solid Kentucky Oaks contenders in She Be Smooth and Zany, has entered the duo of Kadabra, most recently third to stablemate Zany in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, and Repole Stable’s Baffle, still in search of a maiden victory.
Baffert has three contenders on the Oaks leaderboard, with Explora atop the list with 95 points, Forced Entry at No. 5, and Bottle of Rouge at No. 20.
Bottle of Rouge, who carries the silks of Baffert’s wife Jill, is the 6-5 favorite and the lone graded stakes winner of the field, having taken the Del Mar Debutante (G1) in September. The daughter of 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso was a non-threatening sixth in the BC Juvenile Fillies (G1), but kicked off her sophomore campaign with a 1 ½-length win in the Sunland Park Derby.
Named for a line in the song “Grapejuice” by Harry Styles (“give me something old and red”), the gray filly was purchased for $100,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“We always try to buy a filly for her every year,” Bob Baffert said of his wife, a big Harry Styles fan. “Some of them work out, some don’t.”
So far, the cleverly named filly (her dam is Blues Corner) has worked out just fine for the Bafferts. She broke her maiden at second asking and scored a game victory when jumping into Grade 1 company in the Debutante.
“I have had some really nice horses, but never a young horse with all the hopes and dreams that come with that and the potential that may or may not come to fruition,” said Jill Baffert, who since 2002 has had 70 winners as sole owner for more than $4 million, among them 2012 Test Stakes (G1) winner Contested.
An 11 1/2-length win in the Busanda at Aqueduct has Dazzling Dame knocking on the Oaks door at No. 17 (the Oaks field is limited to 14 starters). Ridden by Jevian Toledo, the imposing bay filly went straight to the front and hit the wire in 1:38.30 for the mile, more than three-fifths of a second faster than 3-year-old colt My World’s time in the $150,000 Jerome Stakes earlier on the card.
Purchased for $45,000 at the OBS March 2025 sale, the Girvin filly broke her maiden at first asking and has since captured two other stakes, the Sorority at Monmouth in August and the White Clay Creek Stakes, both at a mile.
Russell, who has been the leading trainer in Maryland for three straight years, has saddled winners worth more than $33 million since obtaining her license in 2018. Her lone Grade 1 winner to date has been Doppelganger, who took the 2023 Carter.
The big bay filly Dazzling Dame looks like the clear speed and should be intent in front from the start. Just behind figures to be Bottle of Rouge, who should settle comfortably behind the pace and look to pounce turning for home. Hit Parade brings the closing kick. She wrapped up a successful 2025 campaign with her win in the Untapable but didn’t show much when fifth in the Martha Washington. If Dazzling Dame is pressured early – which seems unlikely unless Bottle of Rouge decides to take it to her- Hit Parade could pick up the pieces if the pace collapses late.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dazzling Dame | J Toledo | B T Russell | 5/2 |
| 2 | Hit Parade | I Ortiz, Jr. | B H Cox | 3/1 |
| 3 | Bottle of Rouge | F Prat | B Baffert | 6/5 |
| 4 | Kadabra | J R Velazquez | T A Pletcher | 6/1 |
| 5 | Somemunny to Love | J A Hernandez | F W Stites | 20/1 |
| 6 | Baffle | R Maragh | T A Pletcher | 10/1 |
Jenny Kellner is an award-winning journalist and teacher who has covered thoroughbred racing for years. As a reporter for both United Press International and The Associated Press, her work has appeared in publications and on websites around the world. Jenny has also written for The New York Times, the New York Post, Newsday and Sports Illustrated.
