Majestic Oops secured a victory in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park, reversing her fortunes from the Breeders' Cup Distaff. The 6-year-old mare now aims for the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 11. Trainer Dan Ward expressed enthusiasm about the performance.
Majestic Oops claimed a three-quarter-length win in the $400,000 Azeri Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, finishing ahead of Regaled with jockey Francisco Arrieta aboard. Nitrogen, the 1-5 favorite and North America's champion 3-year-old filly of 2025, placed third, a length behind Regaled. The race time was 1:43.36 over a sloppy, sealed surface.
This triumph marked the first graded stakes victory for Majestic Oops, who paid $20.60 to win. It came after a ninth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Distaff on November 1 at Del Mar, where Nitrogen finished second and Regaled third. The Azeri featured these three runners, inverting their prior order of finish.
Trainer Dan Ward, 67, who began training independently in summer 2023 after working with Hall of Famers Bobby Frankel and Jerry Hollendorfer, noted the mare's strong condition post-race. "You only get a certain amount of chances to run throughout the year and there's so much time in between races and everything," Ward said. "I'm here all the time, like 12 hours a day, every day. And when you see a horse run like that, it's amazing."
The win earned Majestic Oops a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 94, surpassing her 92 from the American Beauty Stakes on February 13. Originally slated for the one-turn Matron Stakes on March 27, plans shifted to pursue the graded win, partly to enhance her broodmare value. Co-owner Mark Martinez of Agave Racing Stable also owns a share in Haulin Ice, targeting the Matron.
Majestic Oops, a daughter of Majestic Harbor bred in California by William Dory, Sandy Dory, Gary Kropp, and Janet Kropp, races for Agave Racing Stable, Medallion Racing, Evan Trommer, and Sheila Regan. Her career record stands at 35 starts: 9 wins, 11 seconds, 4 thirds, with earnings of $952,309. This was her fourth stakes win, following victories in the Dig a Diamond Stakes and Lady's Secret Stakes.
Ward plans to enter her in the 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom Handicap, a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Distaff.
