Rouge Puts on a Spectacular Show in 2026 Kentucky Oaks; Expect Stunning Performances!
Bottle of Rouge placed herself in contention for the Kentucky Oaks with a win in the Virginia Oaks on March 14. She is owned by Jill Baffert and trained by Bob Baffert.
Natalie 'Jill' Baffert's Bottle of Rouge and hall of fame jockey Mike Smith beat favored stablemate Explora (Juan Hernandez up) in the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Debutante Saturday, September 6, 2025, at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar, CA. Both fillies are trained by Baffert's husband, Bob Baffert. Benoit Photo BENOIT PHOTO This time of year is always about questions in the Thoroughbred Racing game when it comes to events like the Kentucky Oaks.
First and foremost, can the runner get enough qualifying points to get in the race? Secondly, when these three-year-old fillies are running for that blanket of lilies, can my horse win? The Virginia Oaks on March 14 provided an answer of “YES” to both those questions for one particular Southern California-based team.
For those who had been wondering, Bottle of Rouge proved she has the makeup to be a real player in the Kentucky Oaks on May 1. Shipping across the country for the Virginia Oaks, this daughter of Vino Rosso was more than Maybeline as she cruised to a 4 ¼ length score in this mile and a sixteenth run over the East coast dirt. Owned by Tennessee native Jill Baffert and trained by her husband, the iconic Bob Baffert, this beautifully marked gray filly was pretty as a picture as she took command of the race at the top of the stretch and runway modeled to the wire.
“She is a quality filly that proved she is a Kentucky Oaks horse with that run”, says Bob Baffert. “Shipping and running as well as she did tells us about her intelligence and abilities. I am really excited for Jill to have a filly like this.