Five Fleet Fillies Of The Week: Mar. 2-8

Wandering Eyes · 2026-03-10T13:35:13Z

The splendid Splendora set the pace, took the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Park and made headlines. Now, let's get to this week's rankings:

5. REGALED, OP, 3/7, GII Azeri Stakes, 1 1-16 miles
Beyer Speed Figure- 93 (2nd)
(m, 5, by Mohaymen-Ascot Walk, by Daaher)
O-Ribble Farms and Front Page Equine. B-Chris Baccari (Ky). T-Whit Beckman. J-J.D. Ramos.

Her come-from-the-clouds style is probably more suited to 1 1/8 miles than the Azeri's 1 1/16 miles, but she made up 4-plus lengths in the final furlong to be closing rapidly on Majestic Oops (below). Her previous attempt in the GIII Falls City was the dullest she has looked since being acquired in an online sale last May for $300k and turned over to Beckman, but she was given a three-month break from serious training and bounced right back to form. She presumably will be seen next at Oaklawn in the $1.25 million GI Apple Blossom Handicap Apr. 11.

4. STRONG DESTINY, TP, 3/6, allowance, 1 1-16 miles (AW)
Beyer Speed Figure- 94
(f, 4, by Constitution-Barbadia, by Speightstown)
O-All In Racing and Royer Family Stables. B-Juddmonte (Ky). T-Phil Sims. J-Fernando De La Cruz.

A breeding powerhouse can't keep everything, so despite her Juddmonte-strong extended female pedigree it made sense to cull the underperforming five-race maiden Strong Destiny at Keeneland November, where she brought a modest $60k. And then came Tapeta. In her first start for new connections, she whipped an odds-on favorite at Turfway by 8 1/2 lengths. Then Friday she dominated a first-level allowance by 15 1/2engths with a final quarter of :24.75 on a slow surface. It will be interesting to see if this new performance level translates from Tapeta back to say Keeneland or Churchill's dirt.

3. MAJESTIC OOPS, OP, 3/7, GIII Azeri Stakes, 1 1-16 miles
Beyer Speed Figure- 94
(m, 6, by Majestic Harbor-Miss Oops, by Olmodavor)
O-Medallion Racing, Evan Trommer, Agave Racing Stable and Sheila Regan. B-William and Sandy Dory and Gary and Janet Kropp (Cal). T-Dan Ward. J-Francisco Arrieta.

MAJESTIC-OOPS-Azeri-Stakes-G2-40th-Runni

Majestic Oops | Coady Media

She had run once against champion Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), finishing 11 lengths behind her in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff. She had met Regaled twice, finishing 10 1/2 lengths behind her in the same race and 11 1/2 lengths behind her in the GIII Delaware Handicap.

But the Azeri was a new day on Majestic Oops's favorite surface, and she churned through Oaklawn slop to defeat both and earn her coveted first graded victory. It was also the first higher level win for 67-year-old trainer Ward, former longtime assistant to Bobby Frankel and Jerry Hollendorfer who went on his own in 2023. Ward deftly engineered a dramatic form improvement for Majestic Oops at last year's Oaklawn meet, after which her current owners acquired her privately last summer.

2. R DISASTER, GP, 3/7, GIII Hurricane Bertie Stakes, 6 1/2 furlongs
Beyer Speed Figure- 95
(m, 5, by Awesome Slew-Making Havoc, by Gottcha Gold)
O-Averill Racing, Two Eight Racing and ATM Racing. B-Ocala Stud & J. Michael O'Farrell Jr (Fla). T-Saffie Joseph Jr. J-Micah Husbands.

By my count, Rich Averill has raced 57 horses with names beginning with “R.” And it's working: that list includes four of his five graded winners, of which R Disaster is the most recent.

This was her second graded win, and it wasn't necessarily expected by Saffie Joseph in her return from her first-ever mini-vacation.

“I was concerned,” he said. “I didn't think she was 100 percent fit.”

He needn't have worried, given her 5 1/2-length victory. She shot right to the front as usual, and jockey Michael Husbands said, “I just sat there.”

1. SPLENDORA, SA, 3/7, GI Beholder Mile, 1 mile
Beyer Speed Figure- 100
(m, 5, by Audible-Miss Freeze, by Frost Giant)
O-Boyd Racing and By Talla Racing. B-The Elkstone Group (Md). T-Bob Baffert. J-Juan Hernandez.

This makes five straight Ws on the track for the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner, but she was beaten in the ballot box–losing in Eclipse Award voting for outstanding female sprinter to GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint sensation Shisospicy (Mitole) by a 113-68 margin.

Baffert said the ultimate goal is a return to the Breeders' Cup to “get her that championship she should have gotten (last year).” But before that, co-owner Michael Talla said his mare will be sent East “where the money is.”

And if money is the criteria, logical spots would be the Apple Blossom at 1 1/16 miles–where she would likely face Nitrogen–or the $1 million GI Derby City Distaff at seven furlongs on the Derby undercard May 2.