Carpe Diem filly Scolding turned plenty of heads on Saturday (May 2) as she ran out a six lengths winner on debut at Oaklawn.
Bought by Phoenix Thoroughbreds at the OBS Horses in training sale of 2019 Steve Asmussen had the three-year-old filly ready to go for her first outing. Sent off a red hot favourite following some sharp workouts, Scolding didn’t disappoint displaying speed and talent in equal measure over the six furlongs trip.
After a brief flirtation with the lead after a good start, jockey Ricardo Santana Junior sat just off the early leader as the leading pair clocked :21.77 for the opening quarter. Still pressing for the lead at the turn the filly soon took over in front has her rival cried enough. Oozing confidence in the saddle Santana afforded himself the luxury of a look around to check for dangers before just increasing the tempo at the top of the stretch. Scolding quickly moved away from the pack under still minimal urgings from the man on her back and was soon sprinting clear. It was now a question of by how many lengths did Santana want his partner to win by and the answer as they crossed the line eased down was six putting in an impressive :12.06 for the final eighth of a mile.