If the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) were being run at Oaklawn Park rather than Churchill Downs, Counting Stars might well be a short-priced favorite. Any doubts as to whether the Mark Casse trainee likes the track were completely resolved last Friday, when the filly unleashed a powerful move to mow down early leader Empath and draw off to a 5½-length win in the Fantasy Stakes (USA-G2) while merely being shown the whip. Martha Washington Stakes (USA-L) winner Search Party also made a sustained move after running in mid-pack early and was a clear second best, 9½ lengths ahead of Taken by the Wind. With the win, Counting Stars ran her record to four wins from seven starts with earnings of US$972,606, clearly far more than was expected from her when she sold for US$13,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. (West Point Thoroughbreds later paid US$150,000 for her at the 2025 Ocala Breeders’ Sales April sale of 2-year-olds in training, but they have still gotten a nice return on investment from her.)
The Fantasy was a welcome turnaround from two starts earlier, when Counting Stars completely stopped on the second turn of the Martha Washington and was cantered in. Whatever troubled her was not in evidence in her next outing, the Honeybee Stakes (USA-G3). Slow to find her best stride, Counting Stars motored strongly through the stretch off a four-wide move and was slowly getting to winner Explora, who held her safe by three-quarters of a length. Explora came down with a fever prior to the Fantasy, making Counting Stars’ task easier, but on the other side of the coin, Counting Stars stayed closer to the early pace in the Fantasy and, if anything, displayed a sharper turn of foot when she launched her bid. The Fantasy was her third stakes win, all at Oaklawn, and was her first graded win, and the 75 points she earned toward a starting berth in the Kentucky Oaks will be more than enough to get her into the gate.
If Counting Stars is not counting lilies rather than stars at the end of the Kentucky Oaks, it is unlikely to be because she lacks staying power. She is a second-crop daughter of 2020 Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1) winner Honor A. P., whose sire Honor Code (by 1992 American Horse of the Year A.P. Indy) was the American champion older male of 2015 and whose dam Hollywood Story won the 2006 Vanity Handicap (USA-G1) over 9 furlongs. On the distaff side, Counting Stars’ broodmare sire is 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner and Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Paynter, sired from 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) winner Awesome Again out of a full sister to two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow. Given these connections, it would be an odd thing if Counting Stars could not get 9 furlongs.
Counting Stars is the first foal of Paynterbynumbers, whose only other foal is a yearling filly by Epicenter. A mare whose two wins came at a mile and a mile and one-sixteenth, Paynterbynumbers was produced from the stakes-placed sprinter Ruth and Neva, whose taste for shorter distances probably came through her sire, 1994 American champion sprinter Cherokee Run. Ruth and Neva is a half sister to 2018 Fantasy Stakes (USA-G3) winner Sassy Sienna (by Midshipman) and to Grade 3-placed Newton John (by Stormin Fever), whose distance capacities better reflect the legacy of their dam, Tap for Gold. Although Tap for Gold did not race, she is by 1992 American champion older male Pleasant Tap, the best racing son of 1981 American champion 3-year-old male Pleasant Colony. She is a half sister to Cherokee Reef (by the Pleasant Colony horse Cherokee Colony), a stakes winner at 9 furlongs, and to Irish juvenile stakes winner Chanting (by Danehill).
Of the major tracks of the United States, Oaklawn Park is generally held to have the most similar racing surface to that of Churchill Downs, and this bodes well for Counting Stars’ chances in the “Lilies for the Fillies”—the more so since she scored her maiden win at Churchill Downs. With seven starts now under her belt, she will also be one of the more seasoned members of the field. She appears to be on a rising trajectory, and any improvement on the form she showed in the Fantasy should have a good chance of landing her in the winner’s circle on May 1.
The Fantasy was a welcome turnaround from two starts earlier, when Counting Stars completely stopped on the second turn of the Martha Washington and was cantered in. Whatever troubled her was not in evidence in her next outing, the Honeybee Stakes (USA-G3). Slow to find her best stride, Counting Stars motored strongly through the stretch off a four-wide move and was slowly getting to winner Explora, who held her safe by three-quarters of a length. Explora came down with a fever prior to the Fantasy, making Counting Stars’ task easier, but on the other side of the coin, Counting Stars stayed closer to the early pace in the Fantasy and, if anything, displayed a sharper turn of foot when she launched her bid. The Fantasy was her third stakes win, all at Oaklawn, and was her first graded win, and the 75 points she earned toward a starting berth in the Kentucky Oaks will be more than enough to get her into the gate.
If Counting Stars is not counting lilies rather than stars at the end of the Kentucky Oaks, it is unlikely to be because she lacks staying power. She is a second-crop daughter of 2020 Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1) winner Honor A. P., whose sire Honor Code (by 1992 American Horse of the Year A.P. Indy) was the American champion older male of 2015 and whose dam Hollywood Story won the 2006 Vanity Handicap (USA-G1) over 9 furlongs. On the distaff side, Counting Stars’ broodmare sire is 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner and Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Paynter, sired from 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) winner Awesome Again out of a full sister to two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow. Given these connections, it would be an odd thing if Counting Stars could not get 9 furlongs.
Counting Stars is the first foal of Paynterbynumbers, whose only other foal is a yearling filly by Epicenter. A mare whose two wins came at a mile and a mile and one-sixteenth, Paynterbynumbers was produced from the stakes-placed sprinter Ruth and Neva, whose taste for shorter distances probably came through her sire, 1994 American champion sprinter Cherokee Run. Ruth and Neva is a half sister to 2018 Fantasy Stakes (USA-G3) winner Sassy Sienna (by Midshipman) and to Grade 3-placed Newton John (by Stormin Fever), whose distance capacities better reflect the legacy of their dam, Tap for Gold. Although Tap for Gold did not race, she is by 1992 American champion older male Pleasant Tap, the best racing son of 1981 American champion 3-year-old male Pleasant Colony. She is a half sister to Cherokee Reef (by the Pleasant Colony horse Cherokee Colony), a stakes winner at 9 furlongs, and to Irish juvenile stakes winner Chanting (by Danehill).
Of the major tracks of the United States, Oaklawn Park is generally held to have the most similar racing surface to that of Churchill Downs, and this bodes well for Counting Stars’ chances in the “Lilies for the Fillies”—the more so since she scored her maiden win at Churchill Downs. With seven starts now under her belt, she will also be one of the more seasoned members of the field. She appears to be on a rising trajectory, and any improvement on the form she showed in the Fantasy should have a good chance of landing her in the winner’s circle on May 1.
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