Laoban will have his first Kentucky Oaks (G1) starter on Friday at Churchill Downs when Ava’s Grace breaks from post 7 in a full field of 14 3-year-old fillies set to contest the $1.25 million race.
Ava’s Grace earned her Kentucky Oaks ticket with a gallant second in the April 3 Fantasy S. (G3) at Oaklawn Park, that track’s premier Oaks prep race. The Robertino Diodoro trainee won her debut last July at Ellis Park and also ran third in the historic Adirondack S. (G2) at Saratoga. She’ll be ridden Friday by David Cohen, whose been aboard for three of her four lifetime starts.
Ava’s Grace is owned by Cypress Creek Equine and was bred in Kentucky by Southern Equine Stables, LLC. The Kentucky Oaks is race 11 on Friday, with a post time of 5:51 p.m. ET, and can be seen live on NBC Sports.
Laoban made a major impact with his first crop last year, producing 36 individual winners, including Grade 1 winner Simply Ravishing and Grade 2 winner Keepmeinmind. The latter is scheduled to run in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby (G1). Laoban currently is in the top five on the 2021 Second-Crop Sire list.
