Belmont and Saratoga Oaks winners Fionn and Laurelin meet again in the $350,000 Grade III Jockey Club Oaks over 2,200m at Aqueduct on Saturday, November 15. Both fillies came up short in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup during Keeneland’s fall meet, but could bounce back on the East Coast.
Stepping these three-year-old fillies back up to a longer distance despite penalties at the New York City track looks wise, based on their respective second and fourth spots in Kentucky. Following Belmont Oaks success around Saratoga over the summer, Brad Cox’s Fionn proved her stamina when defying a penalty to land the valuable Dueling Grounds Oaks under a penalty at Kentucky Downs.
That 2,100m race came over just 100m shorter than the Jockey Club Oaks distance. Fionn, a daughter of Twirling Candy inherits plenty of stamina from her damsire Giant’s Causeway. She simply couldn’t close on Lush Lips enough around Keeneland and missed the show. Fionn needed every meter to turnabout juvenile form with subsequent Alabama Stakes heroine Nitrogen in the Belmont Oaks.
That one placed in both the Spinster Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, following her Grade I defeat of Kentucky Oaks scorer Good Cheer with Acorn Stakes winner La Cara. Fionn’s collateral form reads well, especially now dropping into an easier race albeit against a re-opposing rival. Laurelin brought an unbeaten record into the Queen Elizabeth, meanwhile, but just couldn’t get to Lush Lips.
Graham Motion’s filly by Zarak gained on the Keeneland winner all the way to the wire. Laurelin found plenty for pressure and missed out by a length and a tail. She’s no stranger to Aqueduct Racetrack, however, where she’s a perfect 3-3. That experience of the course, despite running over shorter distances, only help Laurelin in this rematch.
Evershed Interesting in Jockey Club Oaks
Given the Queen Elizabeth result and her track record, all the best Belmont Stakes betting sites favor Laurelin to confirm form with Fionn. She’s done the least wrong in her career of the eight-runner field, but there are other fillies renewing rivalries with the Morning Line top two. Chief among those is the freshened up Saratoga Oaks second Evershed.
Arnaud Delacour’s lightly-campaigned daughter of Churchill raced alongside Laurelin for much of that Grade II contest at the Spa. When the winner made her move around the far turn, Evershed seemed outpaced at first. That forced her wide into the home stretch, but she stayed on well and made sure of the runner-up spot nicely. On the bare Saratoga Oaks form over 1,900m, she has almost two lengths to find on Laurelin.
What helps Evershed’s cause in the Jockey Club Oaks, however, is a 4lb favorable swing in weight. While dropping her down in distance for the Old Dominion Oaks at Colonial Downs saw her finish second again last time, going further could bring about improvement from her if shaping as she did around the Spa.
Hereforagoodtime has made the show in three consecutive graded races for Brendan Walsh. On two of those occasions, this filly by Justify has found Fionn too good. The front two pulled clear of Hereforagoodtime in the Dueling Grounds Oaks and she meets her old rival off the same term with almost four lengths to find.
Bill Mott’s Scythian won the Grade II Miss Grillo here as a juvenile, but hasn’t reached those heights again since. Miguel Clement runs two, but both Don’t Jinx It and National Archive must step up on minor victories. Unmerited Favor from the Kenneth McPeek barn completes the line-up and similar comments apply.
Jockey Club Oaks 2025 Post Positions Draw & Morning Line Odds
- Scythian (122lbs) – 12-1
- Hereforagoodtime (118lbs) – 8-1
- National Archive (118lbs) – 10-1
- Fionn (122lbs) – 2-1
- Evershed (118lbs) – 8-1
- Don’t Jinx It (118lbs) – 12-1
- Laurelin (122lbs) – 9-5 fav
- Unmerited Favor (118lbs) – 10-1
Our Handicapper’s Verdict
As the only graded winners in the field from this season, it’s probably between Laurelin and Fionn with preference for the former. The Motion filly loves it Aqueduct. Off revised terms, however, Evershed cannot be discounted getting in amongst the big two with her open to further progress trying this longer distance.
WATCH: Laurelin & Fionn Race in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
