Counting Stars emerged in good order from her blowout victory in Friday’s $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2), her dual Hall of Fame trainer, Mark Casse, said Saturday morning.

Counting Stars received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 92 – a career high – for her 5 ½-length victory over stablemate Search Party in the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy, Oaklawn’s third and final Kentucky Oaks qualifying race. It marked the largest margin of victory in the Fantasy since Joyful Victory (seven lengths) in 2011.

Counting Stars received 75 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to push her total to 100, which is third on the official rankings released by Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies, is limited to 14 starters. The race is May 1.

“She brought her “A” game,” Casse said. “She was the Counting Stars I’ve been seeing for a long time and thought we had. She ended up getting a very good Beyer. That puts her, I think, pretty well at the top of the list right now.”

A two-time stakes winner earlier in the Oaklawn meeting, Counting Stars was exiting a runner-up finish, beaten three-quarters of a length by Explora, in the $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles March 1. The Honeybee was Oaklawn’s second Kentucky Oaks qualifying race.

Explora was the even-money program favorite for the Fantasy, but she was scratched because of a fever, reducing the starting field to just five. Explora ranks fourth on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 95 points.

Search Party strengthened her Kentucky Oaks credentials with her runner-up finish in the Fantasy. Search Party won

Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Oaks qualifying race – $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes Feb. 6 – and ran fourth in the Honeybee. Search Party, in traffic on the second turn of the Fantasy, finished 9 ½ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Taken by the Wind.

“I kind of think that’s her game,” Casse of the Kentucky Oaks. “She’s going to get another sixteenth of a mile. She’s going to get a lot of pace. There was not a lot of pace yesterday.”

Casse said he’s unsure when Counting Stars and Search Party will depart Oaklawn to prepare for the Kentucky Oaks, but both horses “will go straight to Churchill Downs.”

“We still have, what, five weeks?” Casse said. “So, there’s no rush. They’re happy here. I might leave them here for a bit.”

Casse has a third Kentucky Oaks candidate in unbeaten Oaklawn-based French Friction, who is scheduled to make her two-turn debut in the $750,000 Ashland Stakes (G1) April 3 at Keeneland. She ships to Monday to Kentucky, Casse said.

“She would almost have to win to have enough points,” Casse said. “There’s only 14. Obviously, Counting Stars is good right now. I’m fairly certain Search Party is fine, too. They still have a few more (qualifying races).”

French Friction won the $150,000 six-furlong Dixie Belle Stakes Feb. 14 in her last start.

Haulin Ice Does it Again

Arkansas-bred star Haulin Ice received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 97 for her 1 ¾-length victory in Friday’s six-furlong $250,000 Matron Stakes for older females.

The Matron was Haulin Ice’s eighth victory in 10 career starts at Oaklawn. Based in south Florida with trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., Haulin Ice became the first two-time winner of the Matron, which debuted in 2023, and pushed her career earnings to $1,227,750, a record for an accredited Arkansas-bred. She has a 12-5-0 mark from 21 lifetime starts.

Joseph said next-race plans are pending for Haulin Ice, but he’s anxious to get the 5-year-old daughter of millionaire Oaklawn stakes winner Coal Front back on turf.

Haulin Ice, in her only career turf start, finished second in the Abundantia Stakes Dec. 27 at Gulfstream Park.

“The grass is going to come into play, but how we get there hasn’t been decided,” Joseph said Friday afternoon. “There’s nothing really planned for her. Oaklawn was always going to be her main goal this year. Glad she was able come there and do it again. There’s nothing really planned just yet, but we’ll probably decide in a couple of weeks.”

Haulin Ice is an eight-time stakes winner, with four coming at Oaklawn. In addition to beating open company in the Matron, she won the $150,000 Downthedustyroad Breeders’ Stakes against state-breds the last two years. Haulin Ice won the 2026 Downthedustyroad by 11 ¾ front-running lengths in the fastest six furlongs in Oaklawn history by a female (1:08.75).

Joseph Jr. trains Haulin Ice for C2 Racing Stable (brothers Mark and Clint Cornett), WSS Racing (William Simon) and Agave Racing Stable (Mark Martinez). Mark Cornett has said 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.

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.

Baffert’s Highs and Lows

Desert Gate’s first start outside California was a hit.

Ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, Desert Gate rolled to a front-running 9 ¾-length victory in the one-mile $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes for 3-year-oldsThursday at Oaklawn.

Desert Gate’s final time of 1:37.03 generated a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 97, a career high.

“That was pretty impressive,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said Thursday afternoon. “He’s trained like that and he had little setbacks. Now he looks like he’s back in full gear, so that’s good.”

Desert Gate was one of the country’s top 2-year-olds after winning the Best Pal Stakes (G3) at Del Mar and running second in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) at Del Mar and the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita. Baffert sent Desert Gate to Oaklawn following a disappointing fourth-place finish as the favorite in his 3-year-old debut, the one-mile Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) Feb. 7 at Santa Anita.

Although Desert Gate was racing in blinkers for the first time, Baffert said he believes the equipment wasn’t a game changer for the son of 2019 Arkansas Derby winner Omaha Beach.

“I don’t think it was the blinkers,” Baffert said. “I think he was just training really well. He sort of went backwards on me.”

Baffert said next-plans are pending for Desert Gate, but he will return to California before heading east again to Kentucky, where the trainer will have an expanded presence later this year.

Baffert trains Desert Gate and Explora for longtime clients Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. Explora was the even-money program favorite for Friday’s $1 million Fantasy Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies, but she was scratched after developing a fever.

Explora had returned to Oaklawn after winning its $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) March 1. Explora (95 points) ranks fourth on the latest official Kentucky Oaks leaderboard released by Churchill Downs. The race is limited to 14 starters.

“It’s a shame that filly got sick, because they were all going to go up there,” Baffert said. “The owners were going to enjoy the couple of days there.”

Baffert said Explora will “probably” go straight to Churchill Downs, where she will train up to the May 1 Kentucky Oaks.

River Wind Eyes Eight Belles

River Wind worked a half-mile in :49.20 Friday morning for trainer Norm Casse in advance of a possible start in the Eight Belles Stakes (G2) May 1 at Churchill Downs.

River Wind was an eye-catching 8 ¼-length winner of her Feb. 16 career debut and drew the rail again for her next start, the $150,000 Purple Martin Stakes March 14. River Wind finished second, beaten 4 ½ lengths by Goodall, who ran the fastest sikx furlongs in Oaklawn history by a 3-year-old filly (1:08.78).

“She worked really well yesterday morning,” Casse said Saturday morning. “Felt like she had kind of a tough trip last time out. Broke slow, kind of got into some trouble on the far turn. But other than that, we were excited about the way she ran and probably going to point her to the Eight Belles at Churchill.”

The Eight Belles is for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs.