Calamity Kate wreaks havoc in Delaware Oaks

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Stanton, DE (SportsNetwork.com) - Calamity Kate, the longest shot on the board, set the entire pace and went on to upset the field in Saturday's $300,000 Delaware Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Delaware Park.

Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria went off as the 1-5 favorite in the eight- horse field for the 1 1/16-mile Oaks. Calamity Kate, trained by Kelly Breen, was 54-1 with Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado getting his first ride aboard the filly.

Calamity Kate jumped out to the lead at the start and proceeded to set the pace as Lovely Maria and jockey Kerwin Clark languished off the pace. Owned by George and Lori Hall, Calamity Kate continued on the lead with Lovely Maria gaining from the outside.

The favorite reached contention on the final turn but was unable to advance entering the stretch. Calamity Kate kept the lead at the top of the stretch and drove to a 1 3/4-length win over 8-1 third choice Love and Peace.

"The horse has been training good and in her last start she got a bad break," said the winning trainer. "So the last race was probably a throw out and she has been training great for this race. We had a couple of horses nominated and I guess we picked the right one to come here with. I told Edgar (Prado) just to ride his race. That she is sharp. It was just a matter of being in right spot at that right time."

Finishing third was Hip Hop N Jazz followed by Bar of Gold, Lovely Maria, Danzatrice, White Clover and Milaya.

"They went out there and won," said Lovely Maria's trainer Larry Jones. "I even had a horse out there pushing them. We thought we were in the right spot and we were not going to let anybody go out and steal it. The winner can run and when Kelly Breen comes in with a horse, he is tough. He always scares me and he is tough. But it is okay. We just got beat."

The time for the Delaware Oaks was 1:41.79, the fastest time for the race since the distance was changed to 1 1/16 miles in 1997.

Calamity Kate notched her third career victory but first in a stakes. Winning the Oaks was worth $180,000 and brings Calamity Kate's lifetime earnings to $345,868 in eight starts.

The filly was coming off an eighth-place finish in last month's Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park. She previously won an optional claiming race at Monmouth Park on May 17.

Calamity Kate paid $110.80, $20.80 and $79.40. Peace and War returned $8.00 and $29.40, and Hip Hop N Jazz paid $59.40 to show.