LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Oaks just got even more interesting. Nest, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., became one of the favorites for the May 6 filly classic at Churchill Downs by posting an 8 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $587,488 Ashland Stakes as Keeneland opened its 15-day spring meet Friday amid a wicked chill. The sensational performance puts Nest in the same group as Echo Zulu, Secret Oath, Kathleen O., and Adare Manor, all of them widely regarded as major Oaks contenders. “It was everything we could’ve hoped for,” said Nest’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, who was on hand for the day when extending his Keeneland record to 60 career stakes wins. Nest returned $5.40 as favorite in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies after finishing the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:44.16 over muddy going. The bay daughter of Curlin is owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, and Michael House. :: Want to start playing with a $510 bankroll and have access to free Formulator? Learn more Cocktail Moments was up in the final stride to wrest second by a nose from Interstatedaydream. Then came Awake At Midnyte, Sterling Silver, Happy Soul, Miss Mattie B, and Heavenly Hellos. Interstatedaydream and Happy Soul were sent out to the early lead in the 85th Ashland, with Awake At Midnyte and Nest tracking closely in third and fourth. With about a half-mile to go, those two stalkers forged on to make for a nearly perfect line across the track, with Nest widest of the foursome, clearly going easiest of all. Not long thereafter, it was all over. Nest lengthened her stride without much urging from Ortiz when posting one of the largest margins in race history, shy of the record of 10 1/2 lengths set by Sis City in 2005. Ortiz and Pletcher were among those duly impressed. “We know she wants to run longer, so I wasn’t afraid to move a little early,” said Ortiz, who also won the previous race on a 10-race Friday card, the Grade 3 Transylvania on Sy Dog. “She was doing it easy, comfortable to the three-eighths pole, so I decided to go, and she responded real well. I didn’t get in her way and she did great.” “She’s a filly that’s improved all the time,” said Pletcher, who last year swept the Ashland and Oaks with Malathaat. “As she matured, and as the races got longer, we had the idea that she was going to keep getting better. I really liked the way she was training into this, just better and better.” Nest now has won four of five starts, with the $358,050 winner’s share more than doubling her career bankroll to $623,050. After a September maiden win at Belmont Park, she was third in the Tempted in November, then won the Grade 2 Demoiselle in early December. Her only prior start this year resulted in a six-length romp in the Feb. 12 Suncoast at Tampa Bay Downs. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play like a pro with free Formulator, DRF's premium data product Nest earned 100 qualifying points for the Oaks and will stay here for the time being with the balance of the local Pletcher string prior to eventually moving over to Churchill Downs for the Oaks. Cocktail Moments earned 40 points, enough to also make the 14-horse cutoff for the Oaks, which she most likely will contest, according to trainer Kenny McPeek. Four of the last seven Kentucky Oaks winners had their final preps in the Ashland – Lovely Maria (2015), Cathryn Sophia (2016), Monomoy Girl (2018), and Malathaat (2021). The $2 exacta (4-7) paid $36, the $1 trifecta (4-7-2) returned $49.10, and the 10-cent superfecta (4-7-2-3) was worth $17.91. With high temperatures in the mid-40s, and with light rain falling intermittently throughout the day, the Ashland and the other nine opening-day races were run in conditions that were testing for both man and beast. The day began with King Adrock ($12.20) easily winning the first 2-year-old race of the year in Kentucky. The Florida-bred colt by Uncaptured drew off by five lengths under Flavien Prat for Luis Mendez, who has built a reputation on his home Southern California circuit for having a way with young horses. King Adrock was ridden by star jockey Flavien Prat, who has shifted his tack from his longtime Southern California base to ride regularly here for the first time. Prat, who will move to New York following the May 7 Kentucky Derby, had a second winner with Malibu Marie ($15.20) in race 4. Long-priced winners dotted the earlier races, and it was only when Nest and Illegal Smile ($5.40) won the 10th race were favorites off the mark. A couple of 21-1 shots, Lavish Habits in race 2 and Imogene Malvina in race 6, were among the notable upsetters. Ortiz swept the late pick three with Sy Dog, Nest, and Illegal Smile, which paid $55.20 for $1. Mutuels snafu after race 5 A mutuels error that led to the wrong order of finish being posted for several minutes after the fifth race led to a “repricing” of the race after the correct order was restored. Healing (No. 3) was the winner at 5-2, but the second- and third-finishers, Red Hornet (9) and Rochambeau (8), were inadvertently posted in the wrong order (3-8-9-10) for several minutes afterward. The correct order of 3-9-8-10 eventually was made official. Keeneland issued a statement late Friday explaining that wrong tickets cashed at Keeneland were honored prior to the error being discovered, but advanced-deposit wagering accounts were corrected to reflect the right order. * The biggest day of the meet is Saturday, when the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes will be run as the ninth of 11 races, including four other graded stakes. First post is 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with the Blue Grass going at 5:10. More nasty weather is in the local forecast prior to a warming trend arriving Sunday.