Multiple graded stakes winner Explora broke rapidly from the gate and determinedly turned again a late run by Eight Belles (G2) winner On Time Girl to win Sunday’s $225,000 Leslie’s Lady Stakes (L) for 3-year-old fillies by 1¼ lengths at Churchill Downs.
Ridden by Florent Geroux for coach Bob Baffert, Explora rebounded from a fourth-place end within the Kentucky Oaks (G1) to run seven furlongs over a quick monitor in a stakes report 1:21.16 and gather her fourth profession stakes win for house owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. Explora bested Kilwin’s 2025 Leslie’s Lady mark of 1:21.61.
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Breaking from submit 3, Explora broke quickest from the gate within the area of six and dictated the phrases by means of a primary quarter mile in :22.72 and a half mile in :45.07 as Brooklyn Blonde pressed from the skin in second and On Time Girl, the 4-5 betting favourite, raced relaxed within the clear in third. Leaving the flip, On Time Girl made a three-wide transfer to problem Explora by means of the higher stretch, however Explora dug down deep and put her rival away inside the ultimate furlong for the hard-fought victory.
“Bob and his team did a great job to get this filly ready today and I just had to be a good passenger,” Geroux mentioned. “Bob thought the cut back in distance would be a good fit for her today and she proved that it was. She broke super alertly for me and I was in a comfortable pace. When she felt (On Time Girl) on her outside she was very game and wouldn’t let her pass by.”
Explora, at odds of even-money, rewarded her backers with payouts of $4.06, $2.36 and $2.10. On Time Girl, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., returned $2.14 and $2.10. Shilling, with Manny Esquivel up at 48-1, was one other 5 lengths again in third and paid $4.86 to point out.
Brooklyn Blonde, A Fine Chardonnay and Have Faith accomplished the order of end. Sneaky Good was scratched.
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With her victory value $137,415, Explora boosted her profession earnings to $1,259,415 from a report of 5-3-0 in 9 begins.
At 2, Explora received the Oak Leaf (G2) and was second within the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). This 12 months’s 3-year-old marketing campaign additionally contains wins within the Santa Ynez (L) and Honeybee (G3) with a runner-up effort within the Las Virgenes (L).
“We were really confident she’d run well in the Oaks but she got pressured the entire way,” Baffert mentioned. “They went fast early and she never really got a chance to get a breather.
“I was debating about taking her to (Saratoga) for (last Friday’s) Acorn (G1) but we decided to keep her one turn for now. We’ll probably take her to the (Aug. 8) Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga after this.”
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Explora is a daughter of Blame out of the Bernardini mare Collections Choice and was bred in Kentucky by Mesingw Farm LLC.
The Leslie’s Lady honors Fred and Nancy Mitchell’s breed-shaping broodmare who produced 15 foals, of which 9 grew to become racehorses and 7 have been winners, together with high sire Into Mischief, four-time champion Beholder and Grade I winner and sire Mendelssohn. The 2016 Broodmare of the Year handed away peacefully at age 26 on Jan. 24, 2025.
This story was initially printed by Paulick Report on Jun 7, 2026, the place it first appeared within the News part. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.