As with the 3-year-old colts, 3-year-old fillies active in January tend to be horses that were either lesser lights at 2 or are just starting to come to hand. Either way, they have something to prove before they can step up to take on the best of their peers in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) in May.
At the Fair Grounds, the road to the Kentucky Oaks actually began on December 23, when Alpine Princess earned 10 points toward an Oaks starting berth with a victory in the Untapable Stakes. Her stablemate West Omaha was second that day, but on January 20, it was her turn to step into the limelight. With Alpine Princess remaining in her stall for the Silverbulletday Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (USA-L)—a race contested at the same mile-and-seventy-yards distance as the Untapable—West Omaha had no difficulty romping over five rivals to score a visually impressive five-length win under Luis Saez. The filly now has 25 points on the Oaks leaderboard, good enough for third on the list, and her lifetime record now stands at 4-2-2-0 with earnings of $203,000.
Racing as a homebred for Gary and Mary West, West Omaha is a daughter of the Wests’ West Coast, the American champion 3-year-old male of 2017. A son of the good A.P. Indy horse Flatter and 2000 American champion 2-year-old filly Caressing (by Honour and Glory), West Coast earned his championship with back-to-back wins in the Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (USA-G1) and the Pennsylvania Derby (USA-G1), followed by a third-place finish behind Gun Runner and Collected in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). West Omaha is the fourth stakes winner from the first two crops of her sire, who stands at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky.
On the distaff side, West Omaha is descended from the good broodmare Carols Christmas (by Whitesburg, a stakes-winning son of Crimson Satan). A winning half sister to Grade 3-placed English stakes winner Al Stanza (by Al Hattab), Carols Christmas produced a very good horse in Olympio (by Naskra), whose six graded stakes wins included the 1991 Hollywood Derby (USA-G1). She also produced 1994 Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G2) winner Call Now (by Wild Again) and stakes winner Your Call (by Wild Again). In addition, Carols Christmas produced Grade 3-placed Carol’s Wonder (by Pass the Tab), dam of 1998 Mervyn Leroy Handicap (USA-G2) winner Wild Wonder (by Wild Again); Christmas Star (by Star de Naskra), dam of 2003 Futurity Stakes (USA-G1) winner Cuvee (by Carson City) and 2007 True North Handicap (USA-G2) winner Will He Shine (by Silver Deputy); Dana Nicole (by Flying Paster), dam of 2005 WinStar Galaxy Stakes (USA-G2) winner Bien Nicole (by Bien Bien); and Bistra (by Classic Go Go), dam of 2001 San Vicente Stakes (USA-G2) winner Early Flyer (by Gilded Time) and 2004 Buena Vista Handicap (USA-G2) winner Fun House (by Prized).
Call Now was rather disappointing in the paddocks, producing four winners from six foals but no stakes winners. She fared better as a producer of broodmares, starting off with her 1998 Deputy Minister daughter, Winning Call, who produced 2012 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (USA-G1) winner Tapizar (by Tapit). Her last foal, the stakes-placed Tapit daughter Tapatia, was also a stakes producer, foaling stakes winners Adhara (by Cowboy Cal) and Pyron (by Candy Ride).
Call Now’s 2005 filly, Twisted Tale (by Tale of the Cat), also showed enough talent to be stakes-placed. While she did not produce any stakes winners herself, her unraced daughter Birthday Bash (by Medaglia d’Oro) produced West Omaha as her fourth foal and third winner from as many foals to race. Birthday Bash produced a filly by Bernardini in 2022 and a Lookin At Lucky filly in 2023.
On paper, West Omaha should have no problem with the nine-furlong distance of the Kentucky Oaks, so it is simply a matter of whether she is good enough to get there. If she improves with increasing maturity as her sire and broodmare sire did, look for her to be a major player in this year’s spring and summer filly races.
At the Fair Grounds, the road to the Kentucky Oaks actually began on December 23, when Alpine Princess earned 10 points toward an Oaks starting berth with a victory in the Untapable Stakes. Her stablemate West Omaha was second that day, but on January 20, it was her turn to step into the limelight. With Alpine Princess remaining in her stall for the Silverbulletday Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (USA-L)—a race contested at the same mile-and-seventy-yards distance as the Untapable—West Omaha had no difficulty romping over five rivals to score a visually impressive five-length win under Luis Saez. The filly now has 25 points on the Oaks leaderboard, good enough for third on the list, and her lifetime record now stands at 4-2-2-0 with earnings of $203,000.
Racing as a homebred for Gary and Mary West, West Omaha is a daughter of the Wests’ West Coast, the American champion 3-year-old male of 2017. A son of the good A.P. Indy horse Flatter and 2000 American champion 2-year-old filly Caressing (by Honour and Glory), West Coast earned his championship with back-to-back wins in the Travers Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (USA-G1) and the Pennsylvania Derby (USA-G1), followed by a third-place finish behind Gun Runner and Collected in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). West Omaha is the fourth stakes winner from the first two crops of her sire, who stands at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky.
On the distaff side, West Omaha is descended from the good broodmare Carols Christmas (by Whitesburg, a stakes-winning son of Crimson Satan). A winning half sister to Grade 3-placed English stakes winner Al Stanza (by Al Hattab), Carols Christmas produced a very good horse in Olympio (by Naskra), whose six graded stakes wins included the 1991 Hollywood Derby (USA-G1). She also produced 1994 Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G2) winner Call Now (by Wild Again) and stakes winner Your Call (by Wild Again). In addition, Carols Christmas produced Grade 3-placed Carol’s Wonder (by Pass the Tab), dam of 1998 Mervyn Leroy Handicap (USA-G2) winner Wild Wonder (by Wild Again); Christmas Star (by Star de Naskra), dam of 2003 Futurity Stakes (USA-G1) winner Cuvee (by Carson City) and 2007 True North Handicap (USA-G2) winner Will He Shine (by Silver Deputy); Dana Nicole (by Flying Paster), dam of 2005 WinStar Galaxy Stakes (USA-G2) winner Bien Nicole (by Bien Bien); and Bistra (by Classic Go Go), dam of 2001 San Vicente Stakes (USA-G2) winner Early Flyer (by Gilded Time) and 2004 Buena Vista Handicap (USA-G2) winner Fun House (by Prized).
Call Now was rather disappointing in the paddocks, producing four winners from six foals but no stakes winners. She fared better as a producer of broodmares, starting off with her 1998 Deputy Minister daughter, Winning Call, who produced 2012 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (USA-G1) winner Tapizar (by Tapit). Her last foal, the stakes-placed Tapit daughter Tapatia, was also a stakes producer, foaling stakes winners Adhara (by Cowboy Cal) and Pyron (by Candy Ride).
Call Now’s 2005 filly, Twisted Tale (by Tale of the Cat), also showed enough talent to be stakes-placed. While she did not produce any stakes winners herself, her unraced daughter Birthday Bash (by Medaglia d’Oro) produced West Omaha as her fourth foal and third winner from as many foals to race. Birthday Bash produced a filly by Bernardini in 2022 and a Lookin At Lucky filly in 2023.
On paper, West Omaha should have no problem with the nine-furlong distance of the Kentucky Oaks, so it is simply a matter of whether she is good enough to get there. If she improves with increasing maturity as her sire and broodmare sire did, look for her to be a major player in this year’s spring and summer filly races.
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