Cathryn Sophia wins the 2016 Kentucky Oaks

Cathryn Sophia won the $1 million Kentucky Oaks on Friday evening at Churchill Downs, earning the honor of wearing the garland of lilies.

Terra Promessa surged early and held the lead while Rachel’s Valentina and Lewis Bay chased in second and third. Cathryn Sophia took the lead down the stretch and ran away with it from there. Land Over Sea finished in second and Lewis Bay third.

The winning time was 1:50.33.

Cathryn Sophia, trained by John Servis and jockeyed by Javier Castellano, paid $11.40 to win, while Land Over Sea paid $6.60 to place and Lewis Bay $4.60 to show.

Rachel’s Valentina did not place in the money, finishing sixth, while Weep No More was seventh.

Cathryn Sophia, the least expensive horse in the Oaks after being purchased for just $30,000, bounced back from her only loss of her career.

Rachel’s Valentina, along with Weep No More and Cathryn Sophia, finished nearly together earlier in the year at the Ashland Stakes, leading to anticipation for this showdown. Meanwhile attention was on Land Over Sea, trained by Doug O’Neill, whose 3-year-old Colt, Nyquist, is the Kentucky Derby favorite.

Entering the mile-and-an-eighth Oaks, the feeling was that the field was wide open. Rachel’s Valentina had 2-1 odds, but Lewis Bay at 5-1 and Land Over Sea (6-1) were popular picks among experts. A full half-dozen fillies, including Weep No More (6-1), Cathryn Sophia (7-1) and Go Maggie Go (7-1) had odds in the single digits in the minutes leading up to the Oaks.

Missing, however, was Songbird. After finishing her 2-year-old year as the top filly and winning all three races she entered in 2016, a fever forced her connections to decide not to race her in the Oaks. Out of Medaglia d’Oro, she would likely have been the heavy favorite.

The Kentucky Oaks hit a record 124,589 in attendance. It is traditionally one of the top four horse races in attendance each year, along with the Triple Crown races. In 2015, the Oaks also passed 123,000, beating the Belmont by 33,000.