Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

Quietside, one of the country’s leading 2-year-old fillies,
will make her 3-year-old debut in the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 1
1/16 miles Jan. 25 at Oaklawn, trainer John Ortiz said Sunday morning.

The Martha Washington is Oaklawn’s first of three qualifying
races for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks (G1). It carries a stakes-record purse in
2025 after previously being worth $250,000.

Click here for Oaklawn entries and results.

A homebred for Arkansas-based Shortleaf Stable run by John
Ed Anthony, Quietside is training at Oaklawn after completing her 2-year-old
campaign with a runner-up finish in the $400,000 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at 1
1/16 miles Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. Quietside was beaten by 2 1/2 lengths by
Good Cheer, who surged to the lead late on the second turn.

“Quietside’s doing fantastic,” Ortiz said. “She came back
out of that race in great shape. Looking a little bit more tight and fit. She’s
really developing into her 3-year-old body, so we’re excited about it.”

The Golden Rod was Quietside’s fourth career start. The
daughter of Malibu Moon won her Aug. 4 debut at Saratoga by 6 1/4 lengths and
then finished second behind division leader Immersive in the $300,000 Spinaway (G1)
Aug. 31, also at Saratoga. In her two-turn debut, Quietside finished third
behind Immersive in the $600,000 Alcibiades (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 4 at
Keeneland.

Quietside earned a career-high 86 Equibase Speed Figure in
the Golden Rod, which was run over a fast track. Immersive and Good Cheer, both
unbeaten, are part of trainer Brad Cox’s deep roster of 2-year-old fillies.

“When (Good Cheer) went by her, you thought shoot, but then
Quietside came back,” said John Gasper, Anthony’s racing manager. “She beat the
third horse six lengths. I told John Ed she ran a really good number. She ran
hard. She gives you what she’s got every time.”

The Martha Washington will offer 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying
points to the top five finishers toward eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks.
Quietside, based on her finishes in the Alcibiades and Golden Rod, already has collected
eight points.

Oaklawn’s Kentucky Oaks prep series continues with the
$500,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) on Feb. 22 and the $750,000 Fantasy Stakes (G2)
on March 29. Each race is 1 1/16 miles.

Thorpedo Anna swept the Fantasy and Kentucky Oaks in 2024.