CHAMPION MAKER

In the decades that followed, the Ashland continued to showcase remarkable fllies, the latest being newly minted champions Nest and Malathaat from Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher’s barn.

“Te Ashland has been a great race for us the last few years with Malathaat and Nest going on to have very successful campaigns,” he said. “It’s a super prep race for the Oaks since it is in Kentucky, rade 1 status and points for the Oaks. It is a logical place to run at the highest level. Hopefully, we will be back every year.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek is another regular at the Ashland entry box. He won with Take Charge Lady (2002) and Rosalind (2014 dead heat), and he has saddled the runners-up in four of the past six renewals.

“If a flly can compete in the Ashland, you have a pretty good idea they can compete in the Oaks,” he said. “Te timing of the Ashland is ideal as an Oaks prep. Te Ashland is always on our radar.”

Monomoy Girl, trained by Brad Cox, parher Ashland tally into the 2018 Eclipse Award. As if to punctuate the point, she added the champion older dirt female award in 2020. While recent winners are too young to yet