Life of Joy rolled past Bella Ballerina to score in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The Brad Cox trainee broke cleanly under jockey Flavien Prat and settled towards the back of the field off pacesetter Maximum Offer, who set early fractions of :23.24 and :46.83. Bella Ballerina took over the lead on the turn as Life of Joy made her move between rivals. Leading through 6 furlongs in 1:11.10, Bella Ballerina could not hold off Life of Joy, who rolled past her to the outside and drew away to score by 3 3/4 lengths in a final time of 1:42.27 on a fast main track, just .26 seconds off the track record set by Olympiad in 2022.
The daughter of Gun Runner , owned by Will Stroud, Andrew Farm, Mountmellick Farm, and For the People Racing Stable, earned her first graded stakes win. She paid $9.40 for a $2 wager.
"I thought last time she got beat by a good filly (Zany) and I didn't think the setup of the race was to her favor," Prat said. "But, today, she had a lot of pace to run at and she ran a great race."
Life of Joy began her career with a debut maiden victory followed by a win in the Rags to Riches Stakes before finishing fourth in the Nov. 29 Golden Rod Stakes (G2). Last out, she was second to Zany in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
"We wanted to freshen her up a little bit. We ran into a really good filly in Tampa last time," Cox said. "She got a good setup today and Flavien did a great job today. I think she is a filly that can handle a mile and an eighth."
Bella Ballerina was second as the even-money, post-time favorite, marking her first career loss. Owned by Godolphin and trained by Brendan Walsh, she is a half sister to 2023 Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Pretty Mischievous. Three years ago, the latter was also second in the Fair Grounds Oaks, coming off a win in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, before scoring in the Kentucky Oaks. Ridden by jockey Tyler Gaffalione, Bella Ballerina, a daughter of Street Sense , fought through the stretch drive but had to settle for second best.
"Honestly, she's just getting a little forward on us, you know, last time, when she was a little bit fresh off the layoff, we kind of attributed it to that. Today, she just wanted to get a little forward," Gaffalione said. "When the horse came up outside of it down the lane, when she saw her, she reengaged and finished up really well.
"Obviously, we always want to win these races, but I think we got enough out of this race. It's a steppingstone and we're just going to keep moving forward with her."
Luv Your Neighbor was third after weakening in the stretch drive. Newtown Pike was fourth with pacesetter Maximum Offer fifth. The top five finishers earned Kentucky Oaks points of 100-50-25-15-10, respectively. With this win, Life of Joy is now at the top of the leaderboard with 122 points, with Bella Ballerina second with 110 points.
