Photo: COADY Media
Bottle Of Rouge made a winning move around the far turn under jockey Juan Hernandez on her way to a convincing victory in the 23rd running of the $250,000 Sunland Park Oaks.
Trained by Bob Baffert for owner Natalie Baffert, Bottle Of Rouge raced close to the early pace through a quick half mile. Hernandez guided the 3-year-old daughter of Vino Rosso to the outside and took command at the head of the lane. Despite drifting out a bit approaching the final furlong, Bottle of Rouge had enough left in the tank to win by 1 1-2 lengths, racing a mile in 1 minute, 35.82 seconds.
Bottle Of Rouge, bred in Kentucky by Kathie Maybee, won the Grade 2 Del Mar Debutante last summer at Del Mar and has now won three times from five career starts with earnings totaling $430,000. She also earns 20 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks to be run May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Bottle Of Rouge is the ninth winner in the Sunland Park Oaks for Bob Baffert and his first since Chasing Yesterday won the race in 2019. The Hall of Fame trainer earned his first win in this race with Tough Tiz’s Sis in 2007.
Sent off as the prohibitive post time favorite, Bottle Of Rouge paid $2.80 to win. The $2 exacta with Touch Of Magic returned $20. Pashmina finished third while Coffee Connection rounded out the top four finishers.
Ivy Girl was an early scratch from the Sunland Park Oaks, leaving a field of seven starters for the race.
Unedited Press Release – Sunland Park
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