More Testing for Forced Entry, Otherwise Appears Fine

Forced Entry, who was second choice in the April 4 Santa Anita Oaks (G2) but had to be pulled up as the field crossed the Santa Anita Park stands for the first time, will have more diagnostics done, though outwardly the filly appears to be okay. "So far she looks fine, but we're going to do diagnostics on her just in case," said trainer Bob Baffert April 6. "I think she hit the bulb of her foot but there is no quarter grab." The daughter of Charlatan came into the Santa Anita Oaks off a 1 3/4-length win in the Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3). She had put in a sharp 5-furlong work in 1:00 1/5 prior to the Oaks at Santa Anita that made her 5-2 in the minds of bettors for the key prep to the Kentucky Oaks (G1). Forced Entry broke well along the rail under jockey Mike Smith but was eased before the field entered the first turn. After the race, Smith speculated that the filly had hit herself leaving the gate. "She was real choppy and didn't feel comfortable," he said. "I would rather not take any chances, so I wanted to pull her up." "I trust Mike's judgment and would rather be safe than sorry," Baffert said recently. Forced Entry's owners, who are longtime partners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, still have an entry for the Kentucky Oaks in Explora, who ranks in eighth on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 95 points after winning the Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park by three-quarters of a length as the favorite. She also won the Santa Ynez Stakes and finished second in the Las Virgenes Stakes. Explora is a daughter of Blame out of the winning Bernardini daughter Collections Choice. She finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and was a finalist for honors as 2025 champion 2-year-old filly. Baffert also has Bottle of Rouge on the bubble for the Kentucky Oaks. The daughter of Vino Rosso has 57.5 points that puts her 16th on the Oaks leaderboard. Churchill Downs takes the top 14 points-earners, so Bottle of Rouge needs some defections to move into the field. Owned by Jill Baffert, Bottle of Rouge has wins this year in the Sunland Park Oaks and the Virginia Oaks. Bottle of Rouge is out of the Bluegrass Cat daughter Blues Corner, who is a half sister to grade 3 winner San Pablo and multiple graded stakes-placed winner Slider. At 2, Bottle of Rouge beat Explora in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1).