Kentucky Oaks 2012: Fillies to Keep Your Eye On

It may not be as heralded as Saturday's Kentucky Derby, but Friday will feature a race that has some high stakes in its own right as the Kentucky Oaks will take place from Churchill Downs. The Kentucky Oaks is essentially the filly equivalent to the Kentucky Derby as the world's best female horses will do battle.

There is no shortage of top contenders, and while the talent gap between the elite horses and the long-shots may be a littler wider than it is in the Kentucky Derby, you simply never know who might come out on top. A few horses have gotten a little more publicity and hype than the others, though, so they'll be interesting to watch.

Here are three fillies to watch on Friday in the Kentucky Oaks.

Grace Hall

Perhaps the most dominant filly in racing over the past year, Grace Hall enters the Kentucky Oaks as the odds-on favorite at 3/1. Trained by Anthony Dutrow and captained by Javier Castellano, Grace Hall has everything necessary to come out on top.

She has won four of her six races and placed in the other two, so Grace Hall has been in contention every single time she's been on the track.

Although she finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile fillies race, there is little reason to be down on Grace Hall. With Grace Hall it would seem as though there is very little chance of a letdown of any kind, and that is what you're looking for in a horse.

The only thing that may be worrisome is her No. 2 post position, but she has enough speed that she can set the pace and still hand on to win if she has to.

On Fire Baby

Like Grace Hall, On Fire Baby has been a winner for her entire career to this point. She also have four victories in six races and that is likely why she is listed at 9/2. She enters the Kentucky Oaks coming off a win at the Honeybee Stakes and has won three of her past four overall.

One thing that you really have to like about On Fire Baby as that she has been jockeyed by Joe Johnson every single race, so there's a great comfort level.

She is also similar to Grace Hall in that she is stuck with a poor post position at No. 1. It's going to be very important for On Fire Baby to avoid getting stuck in traffic early.

She and Johnson would likely much prefer to get to the outside, so much of the early portion of the race will deal with positioning. If she can get to her desired spot, though, she has the closing speed to win it all.

Summer Applause

As the third in a triumvirate of horses who appear to be a cut above the rest, Summer Applause will most definitely be a filly to watch in this one. She hasn't finished worse than second in any of her past five races and scored an impressive win in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes in February. With all of that said, one would think that she will very much be in contention of the duration of this one.

One thing that bears watching is her relationship with jockey Garrett Gomez. She has mostly been ridden by Robby Albarado, but he is steering Hard Not To Like instead.

It's tough to say how much a jockey change affects a horse and if they even notice it at all, but with both Grace Hall and On Fire Baby racing so well, any little change could mean the difference between a win and a loss for Summer Applause.