After a debut win going six furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 31, Non Compliant added a graded-stakes win to her resume Saturday when prevailing as the even-money favorite in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes.
The victory provides Non Compliant, trained by Bob Baffert, with an automatic berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Breaking from the outside post under Juan Hernandez, Non Compliant found herself hung wide on the first turn as Nooni, also trained by Baffert, set the pace under Martin Garcia. Non Compliant maintained a stalking position while well off the rail as Nooni carved fractions of 23.42 seconds, 47.22 and 1:11.65 for six furlongs.
Non Compliant began to rally on the second turn, surged past Nooni in mid-stretch and raced under the wire 2 1/4 lengths the best. Nooni held second, 8 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Tenma, the Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner for Baffert.
“She was really happy and a little aggressive, but this was her first time going the mile. So, of course, she’s going to break a little sharp,” Hernandez said. “She relaxed around the turn. I was always really comfortable. Around the (second) turn, I was trying to pick it up, and she did that very well. She didn’t want to stop.”
The winning time for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track was 1:45.08.
“They did an amazing job today,” Baffert said of Hernandez and Non Compliant.
From the first crop of classic winner Tiz the Law, Non Compliance was purchased by co-owner John Rogitz for $150,000 at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds-in-training sale. Rogitz campaigns the filly with partners Georgia Antley Hunt and Jeff Giglio. In her debut sprinting this summer, Non Compliant also came from off the pace to score by 1 1/2 lengths.
Non Compliant paid $4.00, $2.60 and $2.10. Nooni returned $3.80 and $2.60, while Tenma paid $2.20.
This was Baffert’s 13th win in the Oak Leaf, which from 2012 to 2023 was known as the Chandelier Stakes.
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