$250,000 Virginia Oaks Quotes
Posted on March 14th, 2026
NEW KENT, VA. (March 14, 2026) —
Jimmy Barnes, assistant trainer to Bob Baffert, representing winner Bottle of Rouge
“She’s been a lot of fun to travel with. She ran well at Sunland and came here and won. I wasn’t sure how the race would set up because there was a lot of speed, but we were able to settle her. She rated well, and Flavien (jockey Prat) was patient and found a hole to get through. She did the rest. One of the question marks was how she would handle the progression — stretching out in distance and facing classier fillies — but she handled it well. We have two really nice fillies with her and Explora, and we’re looking forward to getting to Churchill.”
Flavien Prat, jockey of winner Bottle of Rouge
“I thought it was a good run. She’s improving race after race and continues to show she can handle more distance.”
Jevian Toledo, jockey of second-place finisher Dazzling Dame
“I really wanted a slower pace, but the other horse chased us the entire way, so I couldn’t give her a breather. She ran really hard and tried her best. She acted more mature today — before she used to be very nervous in the gate, but she relaxed today.”
Cristian Torres, jockey of fourth-place finisher Hit Parade
“We were moving nicely on the backside. Coming into the turn, she started making a nice move on her own — I never had to ask her. She was traveling well, but by the quarter pole, the leaders ran away, and she just stayed there.”
About Colonial Downs
Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live Thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the Commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full-card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, Roseshire Gaming Parlor in Henrico, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.
