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Concrete Rose 2-for-2 in Turf Triple Series after impressive score in $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational presented by Encore Boston Harbor

by Brian Bohl

Concrete Rose handled the second leg of the Turf Triple in the same definitive fashion in which she captured the opening sequence in the Belmont Oaks Invitational last month, leading gate-to-wire before drawing away in the stretch for a 4 ¾-length victory in the first running of the $750,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational presented by Encore Boston Harbor on Friday at Saratoga Race Course.

Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing's Concrete Rose, a three-time graded stakes winner, has taken the first two legs of the New York Racing Association's newly implemented Turf Triple series for 3-year-olds by a combined 7 ½ lengths. Along with the Turf Trinity for 3-year-old males, the Turf Tiara will conclude on Saturday, September 7 at Belmont Park, with the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational for males and the possibility of Concrete Rose going for a sweep in the series in the $750,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational.

The Twirling Candy filly, fresh off her 2 ¾-length win the Belmont Oaks at 1 ¼ miles, was sent to the front in the 1 3/16-mile route on the firm Mellon turf course. As the 1-5 favorite, Concrete Rose led the five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 25.58 seconds, the half in 51.41, three-quarters in 1:15.93 with Coral Beach giving pursuit.

Entering the stretch, Concrete Rose gained separation under jockey Julien Leparoux, kicking away with a strong stretch-drive surge to hit the wire in 1:55.34.

The Rusty Arnold trainee cemented her status as the top sophomore turf filly with her fourth straight victory as a 3-year-old, adding to the Belmont Oaks, the Grade 3 Edgewood on May 3 at Churchill Downs and the Grade 3 Florida Oaks on March 9 at Tampa Bay Downs.

"It was a nice year for me to come up with a nice horse. We're excited. She's so easy. I'm just on for the ride," Arnold said.

Concrete Rose returned $2.60 on a $2 win wager. She earned millionaire status with the win, improving her career bankroll to $1,218,650. Arnold left open the possibility of moving Concrete Rose up against older horses in the future but said he would keep her against fellow sophomores for the time being.

"It's a whole different group if you step up. She'll get one more 3-year-old race before it's over," Arnold said. "We'll see what it's going to be. We feel good. She handled the month turnaround really well. The [Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 12 at Keeneland] has always intrigued me a lot. That was the plan at the beginning of the year. However, it is going to be tough not to try to win these three races [of the Turf Tiara] the first year they have it. To win all three, that would be awful special, so there will be a lot of talking going on."

Bred in Kentucky by Ron Patterson, Concrete Rose is 6-for-7 lifetime, with her only non-win coming with an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Churchill to cap her 2-year-old year.

"They gave me the race in the first part of it," Leparoux said. "We ran very slow, but she finished very strong. She's a very special filly and I'm very excited to be riding her.

"On paper, it didn't look like there was any speed," he added. "She's a very easy filly to ride, so I went for the lead and if someone else wanted to go, I could take back. It's one of those things where they let me go easy and that was it. I was very confident the whole way around, and I knew she was going to kick home. I'm very happy for the connections, there's a lot of people here that love her."

Happen, one of two international shippers for trainer Aidan O'Brien, edged Kelsey's Cross by a nose for second in her North American debut.

"She ran a good race, I was delighted with the way she ran," said Happen jockey Wayne Lordan, who made the cross-Atlantic trek for the mount. "She's never that quick out of the stall, so we didn't want to change anything. I just let her find her feet. She came home nice. I think the winner is a good filly, so I was very pleased with my filly."

Coral Beach and Olendon completed the order of finish. Her Royal Highness was scratched.

Live racing will resume Saturday with a packed Whitney Day card at Saratoga, offering five stakes on the 11-race card, including the Grade 3, $200,000 Troy in Race 5, the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure in Race 7, the Grade 1, $500,000 Test in Race 8, the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose in Race 10 and the featured Grade 1, $1 million Whitney in Race 9 at approximately 5:46 p.m. Eastern and shown on NBC. First post is 1 p.m.