May 1 (UPI) -- Always a Runner was quite the runner when she needed to be in Friday's $1.5 million Grade I Kentucky Oaks, charging down the stretch to win America's biggest race for 3-year-old fillies in just her third career start.
The Gun Runner filly let Explora and a squadron of rivals set a brisk early pace in the 1 1/8-mile Oaks as jockey Jose Ortiz bided his time.
Santa Anita Oaks winner Meaning seized the lead in the stretch run, but by that time, Ortiz had the pedal to the metal on Always a Runner and found little resistance as she swept by.
Meaning held second, with Grade II Fantasy Stakes winner Counting Stars third and Explora fourth.
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