Ellis Park Derby Day Highlights: The $150,000 Audubon Oaks Stakes

HENDERSON, KY. (WFIE) - Sunday was arguably the biggest day of the entire Ellis Park summer meet: Derby Day. It was a loaded day, of six big stakes races on the card, including the Groupie Doll Stakes and of course, the Ellis Park Derby.

Here is one of the earlier stakes races on the slate: the $150,000 Audubon Oaks stakes, going 7 furlongs on the dirt, for 3 year old fillies.

There they go. “Black Forest” and “Santa Fe Gold” both break out to the early lead, and they *both* take them all the way around the far turn.

But, that’s when things change. Here come the closers. The 3, “Positano Sunset”, the 4, “Flamand”, and the 5, “Merlazza”, are all coming on strong.

But, it’s the 3, “Positano Sunset” who surges past everyone, to win, the Audubon Oaks Stakes, at 6-1 odds, by a length over 40-1 longshot, “Flamand”. 28-1 longshot “Santa Fe” held on for third.

Jockey Chris Landeros was aboard the winning, “Positano Sunset”, for trainer Ian Wilkes.

“Everything just worked out nice; I just bought my time. For a second I just had to make a decision if we were going to go the overland route and stay inside. My gut was telling me to stay inside the whole way. I knew they were clipping along pretty quick,” said winning jockey, Chris Landeros. “Just had to buy our time, and I knew if I could get thru we’d be pretty tough. Ian does a great job preparing them, getting their condition up and it just makes my job easy.”