Douglas Scharbauer and Three Chimneys Farm’s Kentucky-bred Always a Runner surged past Meaning and Explora at the sixteenth pole and pulled away to a 1 ¼-length victory in the 152nd running of the $1,500,000 Kentucky Oaks (G1) Friday evening at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Jose Ortiz, Always a Runner remained undefeated in three starts and completed the mile and eighth on a fast main track in 1:48.62. It is the first Oaks win for Brown and second for Ortiz who scored in 2019 with Serengeti Empress.
Explora set the pace while under token pressure from Dazzling Dame through opening fractions of :23.08 and :46.85 with Pashmina racing third and Counting Stars fourth. Always a Runner raced in mid-pack early while between horses. The top two remained unchanged approaching the stretch while behind them Always a Runner launched a five-wide move that put her clear of traffic.
Always a Runner Remains Undefeated
At mid-stretch, Meaning began to draw from Explora but Always a Runner was in high gear and took over at the sixteenth pole and drew off for the victory. Counting Stars rallied late to get third by a neck over Explora. The victory was worth $855,600 and increased Always a Runner’s bankroll to $987,800.
“Around the far turn she really started coming with a big run,” said Jose Ortiz. “She had to really work hard to get by those fillies on the lead. It’s such an incredible experience to win the Oaks. It was a great day of racing and to cap it off in the Oaks it was amazing.”
Bred by Three Chimneys Farm, Always a Runner is a daughter of Gun Runner out of the Malibu Moon mare Always Carina. She is now undefeated in three lifetime starts. She captured the Gazelle Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct in April. She was a $1,050,000 Keeneland September Sale acquisition in 2024 where she was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency.