The first point to make about this filly is that she is relatively compact. Her average stride length figure of 24.16 ft ranked 11th of the 13 runners and her peak average figure of 24.81 ft was almost 2 feet shorter than the longest peak average stride length recorded by Zany (26.73 ft). However, what she may have lacked in terms of pure size, she made up for with determination and a peak average stride frequency of 2.5 strides per second. Perhaps most significantly, she was the only horse to increase her stride frequency figures in the final quarter of a mile, recording a rise from 2.27 strides per second in the 7th furlong to 2.29 per second in the 8th. That ability to quicken again to get herself on terms was the key to this victory and it was no mean feat to record the fastest final 2 furlong splits in the field and the fastest late speed figure of 35.6 mph. Whilst our infographic might suggest that there were others finishing faster, I would add the important caveat that Jose Ortiz knew that he had the race won as he crossed the line and was able to ease up more than some of the jockeys that were riding for the place money in behind, hence the run-out speed figure that ranked only 6th. Always a Runner is clearly a strong staying type and on all 3 starts to date she has managed to record the fastest final furlong split and late speed figures in the field, but this was still a very significant step forward from her previous efforts. After just 3 starts, it is frightening to think that there may be more improvement to come from Always a Runner, who was the first Kentucky Oaks winner for her trainer Brad Cox and just the 2nd to be ridden by Jose Ortiz, who also guided Serengeti Empress to victory in 2019. She was certainly helped by having the eventual runner-up Meaning directly in front of her as they rounded the run, which gave her a target to aim at. However, once moved towards the centre of the track, Always a Runner moved alongside with relative ease and was 0.63s faster than Meaning over the final quarter of a mile.

After the race, Chad Brown said “She’s overcome so much and to be able to be rewarded this way is unbelievable. She had a very serious case of pneumonia. When horses experience things like that, we just had to take things day by day. Her career was really up in the air. I never imagined she’d get to this day”. (source: TDN) Given the issues that she has had to overcome and the fact that her debut came just 85 days ago, this was a monumental effort and if Always a Runner continues to improve, the data from the Kentucky Oaks would suggest that she is likely to prove to be very hard to beat.