Looking Ahead: Top Kentucky Oaks contenders

Apr 11, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Quietside scored for local owner Shortleaf Stable in the Honeybee (Photo by Coady Media)

The Road to the Kentucky Oaks wrapped up with the Ashland S. (G1) at Keeneland, bringing the field for the first Friday in May into sharper focus. The top contenders are Quietside, La Cara, and Good Cheer.

Quietside leads the standings with 168 points. The dark bay filly emerged from the Oaklawn path, where her owner, John Ed Anthony of Shortleaf Stables, holds the distinction of being the winningest owner in the track's history. A homebred, Quietside captured Oaklawn’s final two Kentucky Oaks preps: the Honeybee S. (G2) and the Fantasy S. (G2). The Fantasy marked the most lucrative win to date for her trainer, John Ortiz. Following those victories, she shipped to Keeneland to continue her Oaks preparations.

As a two-year-old, Quietside showed promise with runner-up finishes in the Spinaway S. (G1) at Saratoga and the Golden Rod S. (G2) at Churchill Downs. She enters the Oaks with a record of 3-3-1 from seven starts and earnings of $957,200.

La Cara boasts the unique distinction of winning both the first and last races on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. She launched her campaign with a come-from-behind victory in the Pocahontas S. (G3) at Churchill Downs last September. Most recently, she delivered a front-running triumph in the Ashland, which propelled her to second place on the leaderboard with 151.75 points.

Trained by Mark Casse, La Cara is barnmates with Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman, who sits second behind Burnham Square on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Good Cheer, undefeated in six starts, rounds out the top three with 145 points. As a juvenile, she captured three races at Churchill Downs, including the Golden Rod S. (G2). Her three-year-old season has been just as impressive: she dominated the Fair Grounds path with decisive victories in the Rachel Alexandra S. (G2) and the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), winning these races by a combined 9 3/4 lengths.

Trained by Brad Cox—who won the Kentucky Oaks in 2018 with Monomoy Girl and again in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil—Good Cheer is owned and bred by Godolphin, the stable of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. Godolphin celebrated its first Kentucky Oaks win in 2023 with Pretty Mischievous, another homebred filly.