COUNTING STARS - Fantasy Stakes - Coady Media
Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse said if Counting Stars brought her “A” game, she was going to be tough to beat in the Fantasy Stakes (G2).
He was right.
Taking command late on the backstretch, Counting Stars rolled to a 5 ½-length victory in the $1 million race for 3-year-old fillies Friday at Oaklawn. The margin of victory was the largest in the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy since Joyful Victory (seven lengths) in 2011.
The Fantasy was the fourth victory on the card for jockey Francisco Arrieta and the first seven-figure victory in his career. Counting Stars, the 4-5 favorite, was one of three horses in the race for Casse, who notched his first Fantasy victory and meet-high 10th stakes victory this season at Oaklawn.
Search Party, also trained by Casse, overcame trouble on the second turn to finish second, 9 ½ lengths ahead of Taken by the Wind, who was followed by Sticker Shock and Empath, the third Casse trainee. Explora, the even-money program favorite, was scratched because of a minor illness, reducing the starting field to five.
Counting Stars paid $3.80, $2.10 and $2.20. Search Party paid $3 and $2.60. Taken by the Wind paid $3.60. The winning time over a fast track was 1:44.47.
The Fantasy, which carried a record purse this year, was Oaklawn’s third and final Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. The Fantasy awarded 150 total points to its top five finishers (75-37.5-18.75-11.25-7.5, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.
A Triple Crown nominee, Counting Stars was exiting a runner-up finish, beaten three-quarters of a length by Explora, in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles March 1. The Honeybee was Oaklawn’s second Kentucky Oaks qualifying race.
After winning two stakes races earlier in the meeting, Counting Stars was beaten 60 ¼ lengths in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 6, a 1 1/16-mile race that was Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Oaks qualifying event. She bounced back in the Honeybee and was even stronger in the Fantasy, opening a 5 ½-length in midstretch.
A daughter of Honor A. P., Counting Stars raised her career earnings to $972,606 following her fourth victory from seven starts. She is a three-time stakes winner, also claiming the inaugural $135,000 Astral Spa Overnight Dec. 14 and the $150,000 Year’s End Dec. 27.
Counting Stars races for West Point Thoroughbreds, which purchased the filly for $150,000 at the 2025 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in training.
The Fantasy is the country’s richest Kentucky Oaks prep race this year.
Friday’s estimated attendance was 15,000. Total mutuel handle was $9,021,898.
Racing resumes Saturday at 11:35 a.m. CDT with 14 races, highlighted by the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1).
Fantasy Quotes
Winning Jockey Francisco Arrieta (Counting Stars): “Last week when I worked her, she really impressed me and today she was looking amazing in the paddock and the post parade. She was feeling good. It’s very exciting (to have a Kentucky Oaks candidate). I was expecting two horses outside of me (Taken by the Wind and Sticker Shock) to show speed. But when I didn’t see them, I let my horse go. The last time, I felt like I should be closer when ran second. I was planning to be closer, but when I didn’t see the two speed horses I just let her take it. That’s about it.”
Winning Trainer Mark Case (Counting Stars): “She showed up. I’m proud of her. She’s had a few little bumps in the road, but she’s on track. She trained really good into this race. I was expecting a big effort. You sit there and you watch her run a couple of those races and what’s there to say. I’ve seen too much to know anything, so I just went with it. She was fine and you keep believing.”
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