Just before the field reached the half-mile pole in the Sunland Park Oaks on March 27, Medaglia d'Oro’s Plum Pretty put her nose in front, but it wasn’t long before she was lengths in front; a lead that soon widened to 10 lengths and then to more than 20 in a performance reminiscent of her “half-sister”, Horse-of-the-Year Rachel Alexandra, when she won the Kentucky Oaks two years ago.
Plum Pretty had been knocking on stakes winner’s door in her last two starts, placing third in both the G2 Santa Ynez and G1 Las Virgenes in January and February, respectively. The added distance of the Oaks was much more to her liking and she appeared to have a lot more left at the end of the mile and one-sixteenth race.
Three-year-old Plum Pretty, out of the A. P. Indy mare Liszy, was bred in Pennsylvania by Silent Indy Stables LLC and DDS Stables. Liszy is a half-sister to the Stakes winner Gold Case and was produced from the G2 winner and G1-placed mare Silent Account.
This was the 25th career Stakes winner for Medaglia d’Oro, sire of five career G1 Stakes winners and five additional Graded Stakes winners. In 2010, he was the leading North American sire by number of Stakes winners aged four years and up with a total of 12.
Medaglia d'Oro stands for a fee of $100,000 live foal, stands and nurses.
