All American Oaks Trials Preview

Grade 1 winners Asscher and Running To The Moon are two of the 39 3-year-old fillies entered in Sunday's 440-yard All American Oaks (G1) trials at Ruidoso Downs.

Four trials will be contested. The 10 fastest qualifiers will meet in the September 1, $500,000-est. final.

Running To The Moon is coming off of a half-length victory in the 440-yard, $482,000 Rainbow Oaks (G1) at Ruidoso Downs on July 28. Heath Taylor trains the California-bred daughter of champion First Moonflash for owner Valeriano Racing Stables, which purchased the bay filly for $50,000 at the 2022 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale.

Running To The Moon drew post 3 and will be ridden by Francisco Calderon in the second trial.

Asscher races for Lance Bland and Jimmy Barton from the barn of trainer Marc Jungers. A $350,000 buy at the 2022 Ruidoso Select Yearling Sale, the sorrel daughter of FDD Dynasty has banked $268,840 from five starts this year, and her three wins include a three-quarter length victory in the 400-yard, $404,000 Los Alamitos Oaks (G1) on March 23.

Asscher drew post 4 and will be ridden by Christian Ramos in the first heat.

Other prominent fillies entered in the All American Oaks trials include Flying Sophia and Deep Blue, a pair of graded stakes winners during the Remington Park spring meet.  A homebred daughter of Flying Cowboy 123 trained by Mike Joiner for owners Candy and Calder Ezzell of Roswell, New Mexico, Flying Sophia defeated aged distaffers with her half-length victory in the 400-yard, $100,000 Junos Request Stakes (G1) on June 1.

Flying Sophia drew post 2 and will be ridden by Francisco Calderon in the first trial.

Deep Blue will be making her first start since June 1, when she scored a neck victory in the 400-yard, $297,000 Heritage Place Oaks (G2). John Stinebaugh trains the daughter of champion A Revenant for owner RDS Legacy Racing LLC.

Deep Blue drew post 2 and will be ridden by Ali Rivera in the second heat.

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