Tom Pedulla offers five takeaways from the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, the $600,000 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland Race Course, and the $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes, also at Keeneland, as part of a huge day of racing on Saturday. The Lexington was the last Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep offering qualifying points.

ROAD WARRIOR: Adare Manor, a 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo, proved in a big way that she could win away from her West Coast base for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. She dominated the Apple Blossom by 5 ½ lengths over longshot Flying Connection and looked to be a winner every stride in completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.48 with Juan Hernandez aboard. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, Adare Manor was making only her third start outside of California. She finished second in the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course on May 20, 2022 and then came in a disappointing sixth in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing on Sept. 24 in her next start. The Apple Blossom marked her eighth victory in 16 lifetime races with earnings surpassing $1.7 million. Baffert is optimistic that one of the barn favorites is sitting on a big season. “I just love the way she’s been training this year,” he said.

Beaute Cachee (Coady Photography/Mary Ellet)

GOOD THINKING: As jockey Frankie Dettori prepared to leave the paddock aboard 25-1 Beaute Cachee for the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes, he surprised trainer Chad Brown by saying, “I plan on being very forward in here.” It was not what Brown had in mind, but he stayed silent. “I thought about it for a minute and then I thought, ‘I’m not going to tell him what to do,’ ” Brown said. “It’s such an important win to share. I’ve now won a Grade 1 with Frankie, so obviously anything can happen with those magic hands of his.” Beaute Cachee shook loose on the lead in upsetting favored English Rose by a length and a half to provide Brown with his seventh victory in the prestigious Jenny Wiley, including six of the last seven editions. The legendary Dettori, best known for his brilliant riding overseas, captured his first Grade 1 at Keeneland. “I’ve had a couple of wins here in the past, but not as big as this one,” Dettori said.

Encino (Coady Photography/Alyssa Cumming)

TAKES TO DIRT: It was only natural to question whether Encino could handle dirt after he made his first three starts on Turfway Park’s Tapeta Footings all-weather surface. He provided an emphatic answer to that question when he won the $400,000 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes by three-quarters of a length Saturday at Keeneland. Trainer Brad Cox pointed to three sharp drills at Keeneland as reason to believe the Lexington would go as well as it did with Florent Geroux aboard. “He had a few works at Keeneland leading up to this race and showed his hand,” Cox said. “He seemed like he liked the surface and put it all together.” The son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, a Godolphin homebred, moved into the top 20 on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard with the defection of No More Time. Cox said Godolphin will decide whether Encino will move on to compete in the Derby.

PREAKNESS BOUND?: New York-bred The Wine Steward, making a belated 3-year-old debut for trainer Mike Maker, showed he can be a force this season by running a sharp second to Encino in the Lexington Stakes. He was scratched from the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA  last November at Santa Anita Park and had not gone to the starting gate since he finished second in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity Oct. 2 at Keeneland. Maker was pleased with the comeback effort. “He never disappoints us. No complaints from us,” Maker said. When Maker was asked about The Wine Steward’s next start, he responded that “everything is on the table.” With the colt not having nearly enough points to qualify for the Derby, the May 18 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico would appear to make the most sense. Maker noted that the middle leg of the Triple Crown would be “perfect timing.”

TIME TO REGROUP: Trainer Joe Orseno thought he was in a great position to qualify Florida-bred Hades for the Kentucky Derby when the gelding toppled 2-year-old champion Fierceness in the Feb. 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. He felt so good about his prospects that he decided to skip the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes, never anticipating that various events would lead that race to go with a depleted five-horse field that made it one of the softest Derby preps. Nothing went right for Hades after he was bumped at the start of the March 30 Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa and wound up fifth. In a desperate bid to add qualifying points, Orseno started Hades on two weeks of rest in the Lexington and replaced Paco Lopez with Jose Ortiz. Hades appeared to have nothing in the tank in finishing up the track in seventh, a vivid example of how quickly things can go awry on the Road to the Derby. “We had to take a shot and we did. It might have been too much to ask,” Orseno said of the quick turnaround to the Lexington.