3/26/26 Stakes Advance
By Robert Yates
$1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) – Friday, March 27
Less than a week after securing one spot in the Kentucky Oaks, trainer Brad Cox can grab another when lightly raced Sticker Shock makes her stakes debut in the $1 million Fantasy (G2) Friday at Oaklawn.
The Fantasy – the country’s richest Kentucky Oaks prep this year – anchors a 12-race card that begins at 12:30 p.m. CDT. The program also includes the $250,000 Matron Stakes for older females at six furlongs. Probable post time for the Fantasy, the 11th race, is 5:54 p.m.
The 1 1/16-mile Fantasy is Oaklawn’s third and final Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. With only five horses scheduled to run, the Fantasy will now award 150 total points to its top five finishers (75-37.5-18.75-11.25-7.5, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.
The Fantasy drew six entrants, but even-money program favorite Explora will be scratched after developing a fever. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Explora was exiting a three-quarter length victory over Counting Stars in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) March 1. The 1 1/16-mile Honeybee was Oaklawn’s second Kentucky Oaks qualifying race.
If the Fantasy field remains intact, it will be the smallest since four horses ran in 2011.
The five-horse Fantasy field from the rail out: Search Party, Cristian Torres to ride, 122 pounds, 6-1 on the morning line; Empath, Ramon Vazquez, 118, 20-1; Counting Stars, Franciso Arrieta, 122, 5-2; Taken by the Wind, Emmanuel Esquivel, 122, 15-1; and Sticker Shock, Irad Ortiz Jr., 118, 3-1.
Cox is seeking his fourth victory in the Kentucky Oaks, which is limited to 14 starters. He has several candidates this year, including Life of Joy, who punched her ticket with a victory in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) last Saturday at Fair Grounds.
Sticker Shock (two-for-three overall) launched her 3-year-old campaign with an entry-level allowance victory Feb. 26 at Oaklawn. A daughter champion Uncle Mo, Sticker Shock received a career-high 87 Beyer Speed Figure for the one-length score at 1 1/16 miles.
“I like her a lot,” said Cox, who trains Sticker Shock for her breeders, Gary and Mary West. “I thought her comeback race there was very, very good. I think she needed the race, as well. She got some nice figures out of it. This is a step up, but I think the talent’s there. She’s a beautiful filly. There’s plenty of her. I always thought the longer the better, and I’m hoping she can take the next step Friday that could propel her to the Oaks.”
Sticker Shock is seeking her third consecutive victory for Cox, who swept Oaklawn’s three-race Kentucky Oaks qualifying series in 2023 with Wet Paint.
Sticker Shock, in her two-turn debut, broke her maiden at 1 1/16 miles Nov. 29 at Churchill Downs. She finished third in her career debut at about 7 furlongs Oct. 22 at Keeneland. Cox said he “absolutely” always believed Sticker Shock was a two-turn filly.
“She’s a big filly, big stride,” Cox said. “We ran her at seven-eighths first time. Thought she was talented enough to maybe get it done first time. Ran OK and then, obviously, she’s been very good in her two, two-turn races.”
Dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has three Fantasy entrants – Counting Stars, Search Party and Empath, a supplemental nominee.
After winning two stakes races earlier in the meeting, Triple Crown nominee Counting Stars was beaten 60 ¼ lengths in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 6, a 1 1/16-mile race that was Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Oaks qualifying event. She bounced back strongly in the Honeybee, cutting into Explora’s margin approaching the wire.
“Every indication is she is (going to run well again), but she makes me hold my breath,” Casse said. “If she comes with her ‘A’ game, she’s going to be tough.”
Search Party, in her stakes debut, won the Martha Washington. She was fourth in the Honeybee, beaten 3 ½ lengths.
“I think Search Party’s doing well,” Casse said. “She’s pace dependent.”
Empath, who has never raced around two turns, broke her maiden March 14 at Oaklawn in her last start.
Grade 3 winner Taken by the Wind finished eighth in the Honeybee, her first loss in four lifetime starts. Taken by the Wind is trained by Kenny McPeek, who won the 2024 Fantasy with eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.
$200,000 Matron Stakes – Friday, March 27
Arkansas-bred star Haulin Ice, in her likely Oaklawn swan song, returns to open company in Friday’s six-furlong $250,000 Matron Stakes for older females.
The Matron is the ninth of 12 races, with probable post time 4:48 p.m. (Central). First post is 12:30 p.m. The card also features the $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles.
Haulin Ice, a 5-year-old gray daughter of Coal Front, became the first accredited Arkansas-bred in history to reach $1 million in career earnings when she roared to a front-running 11 ¾-length victory against state-breds in the $150,000 Downthedustyroad Breeders’ Stakes Feb. 20 at Oaklawn.
Haulin Ice, coasting to the finish line, ran the fastest six furlongs in Oaklawn history by a female (1:08.75) under Francisco Arrieta.
The Matron is likely the final career Oaklawn start for Haulin Ice, who races for Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and owners C2 Racing Stable (brothers Mark and Clint Cornett), WSS Racing (William Simon) and Agave Racing Stable (Mark Martinez).
Mark Cornett said moments after the Downthedustyroad that 2026 is probably Haulin Ice’s final year to race and she would “more than likely” be sold in Fasig-Tipton’s November Sale.
“This is it,” Joseph said of Oaklawn. “I don’t think she’ll run there again. You never know, for sure, but then she would have to face the boys, probably, if she was to run back. Probably unlikely, but if she was to have a big performance again, it’s not totally out of the picture. She likes it there so much.”
Haulin Ice has won 11 of 20 starts overall and earned $1,081,500. She has been nearly unbeatable at Oaklawn, boasting a 7-2-0 record from nine starts and earning $695,300. Haulin Ice has seven career stakes victories, including last year’s Matron when she wired the field by five front-running lengths under Arrieta and produced a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure.
Haulin Ice, the 5-2 program favorite, is scheduled to face eight rivals, including millionaire Grade 2 winner Zeitlos, Oaklawn stakes winners Jersey Pearl, Asternia and Foie Gras and Me and Molly McGee, runner-up behind 2025 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint champion Splendora in the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2) Feb. 7 at Santa Anita.
Haulin Ice prepped for last year’s Matron with a front-running six-length victory in the Downthedustyroad.
“It’s a very competitive race and she’s going to need to run one of her best races,” Joseph said. “But she obviously ran big the last time against Arkansas-breds. This is a totally different class test, but her best race was in this race last year. She seems to be doing better than last year. It’s hard to see that she can run better than last year. She ran like a 101 Beyer. We feel she’s a better horse this year, so hopefully that shows in the race on Friday.”
Haulin Ice is scheduled to break from post 6 and carry equal top weight of 124 pounds. Joseph said the post is ideal for Haulin Ice’s running style.
“She can be forwardly placed right on the lead,” Joseph said. “If they want to show speed, she can stalk. But she’s normally naturally fast on the lead, so we’re not going to change that.”
Haulin Ice is trying to become the first two-time winner of the Matron, which debuted in 2023.
Haulin Ice became the leading accredited Arkansas-bred money winner in history with a victory in the Princess Rooney Stakes (G3) Sept. 20 at Gulfstream Park. Nodouble, the country’s two-time champion older horse, set the previous record ($846,749) in 1970.
Haulin Ice was privately purchased by C2 Racing Stable and transferred to Joseph following a victory in open allowance company in May 2024 at Oaklawn. Haulin Ice made her first five career starts in 2024 at Oaklawn for trainer Lindsay Schultz and Arkansas owner Eugenia Thompson-Benight, who also bred the horse.
