Latest news with #Fondly
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Very Brave': Fondly After Third Oaks Win In Monmouth Oaks
'Very Brave': Fondly After Third Oaks Win In Monmouth Oaks originally appeared on Paulick Report. There was a passing thought early in Fondly's career that her future was on the grass. Trainer Graham Motion wasn't against the idea, but he also wasn't convinced it was the right way to go with the filly at the outset.'I said to Aron (Wellman, the head of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which co-owns Fondly with Madaket Stables), 'she handles the dirt pretty darn well, so we should probably start her on the dirt,'' said 3-year-old daughter of Upstart has since validated Motion's belief with victories in two Oaks, the most recent the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on June 14. She will look to add to her growing resume in Saturday's G3, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. The 101st edition of the Monmouth Oaks has attracted a field of seven for the 1 1/16 miles feature.'She's a filly we always liked a lot,' said Motion. 'She obviously has shown plenty of ability in the morning,'Unraced at 2, Fondly won at first asking by 4 lengths in maiden special weight company at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 14, following that with a victory in the Virginia Oaks at Colonial when Motion got ambitious with her, trying the G1 Kentucky Oaks next. Fondly finished 11th in that race but bounced back in her next start to win the Delaware Oaks by 3 lengths.'I think it may have been too much too soon for her,' Motion said of the Kentucky Oaks. 'We ended up on a bad track. It was just a lot. We threw a lot at her that day.' In the Delaware Oaks, despite a bobbled start, Fondly essentially went gate to wire under Irad Ortiz.'I thought Irad gave her a beautiful ride in the Delaware Oaks,' said Motion. 'He kind of had in his mind what he was going to do, and everything fell into place. She handled it very well.'Samuel Marin, coming off the first graded stakes win of his career with Surface to Air in last Saturday's G3 Monmouth Cup, has the call on Saturday.A $50,000 yearling purchase, the Kentucky-bred Fondly has already banked $339,200 with three victories in four career starts. The six-week spacing between her last start and this one is ideal, according to Motion.'I have no concerns about the timing of this race for her,' he said. 'I think the timing is good.' Though Fondly is the least experienced horse in the Monmouth Oaks field, she is the most accomplished, having beaten Black Eyed Susan runner-up Paris Lily by 3 ¾ lengths in the Delaware Oaks. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Paris Lily has leading jockey Paco Lopez listed to is confident his charge is ready for another challenge. She is out of the mare Lifetime, who produced 2024 G3 Peter Pan winner Antiquarian.'She is so straight forward,' he said. 'She's very professional. I normally work her on her own. She's push-button how she does things, and she has always been that way.'Obviously, she is very brave.'The field for the Monmouth Oaks from the rail out: Naked Eye, Ruth, Rosieontheriver, Paris Lily, Running Away, Pink Ruby, and Fondly. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Post
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
2025 Kentucky Oaks picks: Best bets, exactas, odds, and long shots
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. The Kentucky Oaks is run the same weekend, on the same track, over the same surface as the Kentucky Derby, but it always asks handicappers to try to solve a very different puzzle than the Run for the Roses. This year, horseplayers will have to decide if they'll want to lay the wood with clear favorite No. 11 Good Cheer (6-5, TwinSpires), or if they'll try to beat the undefeated filly. And if it isn't Good Cheer, punters will have to decide which of the other contenders they think can pull the upset, as there are seven horses priced between 6-1 and 12-1 on the morning line, and they're not all that different in terms of their running style. 2025 Kentucky Oaks picks How to bet on the favorite Railbirds around the world seem to be in lockstep that No. 11 Good Cheer is the horse to beat and, if the price holds, it isn't a terrible idea to throw a win bet on the undefeated homebred. That said, this is Kentucky Derby weekend, so we'll bypass a win bet on Good Cheer. It's just too short a price to swallow, and this will be the toughest field that she's ever faced. That doesn't mean you should completely ignore her, but instead use her in exotic bets, like exactas and trifectas, with some prices that can juice up your ticket for a big score. She's also one to use with a Derby long shot if you're going to play the Oaks/Derby double. As for how to approach the Pick 5, if you're going to play it, there will likely be a healthy amount of folks looking to single Good Cheer, so it's probably a good idea to go in another direction by at least looping in one or two other contenders. If Good Cheer does get upset, a huge part of the pool will get eliminated in that final leg. Expect to see plenty of pink in the crowd at the 2025 Kentucky Oaks. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con Win bet No. 3 Fondly (20-1) Perhaps this is a reach, but when you're dealing with a massive favorite at the top of the field, you're going to have to do that if you want a price worth your while. We can tip our cap to Good Cheer as the horse to beat, but if things don't go her way on Friday, the race completely opens up as there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of separation between the handful of horses with realistic chances of hitting the board in this race. With that being the case, we'll go with a 20-1 shot on the morning line in Fondly, a horse that is lightly raced but has been lights out in her two starts. We don't know what this horse's ceiling will eventually be, but the early indications are that it could be as high as anybody in this field. Horses to use in exotics No. 1 Early On (30-1) Not too dissimilar to Fondly, the thinking here is that the gap between the horses behind Good Cheer is really not that wide. The inside-post position won't be too much of a concern, because there's so much pace in this race that it's not a huge deal if Early On sits back and stalks the field, as is her preferred style. Not a likely winner, but a horse that can pick up the pieces late and hit the board to give your exotics some buzz. No. 2 Simply Joking (10-1) Simply Joking is a contender to go gate-to-wire on Friday, but she also showed the ability to fend off rivals down the stretch in a hard-fought second at the Grade II Fantasy Stakes at the end of March. This price may come down, as folks try to beat Good Cheer, but this is the speed horse that the chalkeaters will be worrying about when it comes time to run on Friday evening. No. 11 Good Cheer (6-5) This is the horse to beat in this field, so it doesn't make much sense to completely toss her. Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
