Trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ decision to enter STONE LEGACY (Birdstone) in
Friday’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) gave the Hall-of-Fame conditioner three fillies in
the Oaks, a race he has won four times. She will join stablemates BE FAIR
(Exchange Rate) and TWEETER (Unbridled’s Song) in the starting gate of Oaks 135.
Stone Legacy galloped Tuesday morning as did Be Fair, who was having
her first day back on the track after working five furlongs on Sunday in 1:00
1/5 under exercise rider Omar Golon. Tweeter walked the shedrow a day after
breezing down the lane.
When asked why the eight-horse field is smaller this year than in recent
renewals, Lukas replied, “Two words: RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro). I think
she’s the strongest favorite since Winning Colors’ year if she had raced in the
Oaks.”
Winning Colors, trained by Lukas, won the Kentucky Derby (G1) in 1988,
becoming only the third, and most recent, filly to win the Run for the Roses.
Asked why he’s running if he thinks Rachel Alexandra is such a strong
favorite Lukas replied, “If you could guarantee me second place right now I’d be
a happy man.”
Like her Kentucky Derby-bound stablemate Hold Me Back (Giant’s Causeway),
FLYING SPUR (Giant’s Causeway) was not content to walk the shedrow the morning
after her final breeze. Trainer Bill Mott said the filly wanted a little more
action Tuesday after working four furlongs in :48 2/5 and was sent to the track
to jog.
“She’s ready to go,” Mott said.
The Hall of Fame trainer smiled as he said there was another reason why his
filly was out on the racing surface.
“We wanted to see if that track was still hot where Rachel Alexandra had been
over it,” he said. “We were going to try and feel it out and see if the smoke
had settled yet.”
Rachel Alexandra, who will be the heavy favorite in the Oaks, turned in a
blistering four-furlong workout in :46 2/5 on Monday morning.
Mott was asked what he found.
“It was still a little warm,” he said.
Trainer Bob Baffert concedes that GABBY’S GOLDEN GAL (Medaglia d’Oro) faces a
tough assignment in the Kentucky Oaks. The filly earned her trip to Churchill
Downs with a 13-length victory in the Sunland Oaks on March 29.
“It’s a big step up for her, but the way she ran at Sunland Park, we felt
that she deserved a shot at the big event,” Baffert said. “She’s trained well.
She looks fantastic. I think she showed that day that she excelled on two turns.
When she turned for home she just turned it on. When she came back she wasn’t
tired, wasn’t blowing hard.”
Baffert paused to make a point.
“This is a totally different field,” he said.
“This little filly (Gabby’s Golden Gal) is not very big, but she’s very
aggressive,” Baffert said. “She’s going to want to be near the lead. I just hope
she and Rachel don’t hook up and cook each other. She’s free-running, so she’ll
be up on the pace.”
Gabby’s Golden Gal galloped Tuesday morning.
Prompted by threatening skies at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning, the
connections of JUSTWHISTLEDIXIE (Dixie Union) decided to take her to the track a
little earlier than planned for a 1 1/2-mile gallop under exercise rider Danny
Wright.
“We went great. She went right on with her business,” said Neal McLaughlin,
trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s assistant and brother. “She’s ready to go.”
Justwhistledixie, who captured the Bonnie Miss S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park in
her most recent start, will be seeking her sixth straight victory in the
Kentucky Oaks. Her Bonnie Miss victory under jockey Julien Leparoux was her
first trip around two turns.
“We’ve always felt that a mile and an eighth would be no problem. Her running
style helps, because she stalks the pace,” McLaughlin said. “There was an
abundance of speed in the race in Florida. One filly got loose on the lead,
which made us move a little earlier than we wanted. When that filly opened up,
Julien decided to go and not let her get away. She got even with that filly,
then pulled away.”
McLaughlin expects the pace to be solid in the Oaks, and he also expects
morning-line favorite Rachel Alexandra to be doubly tough after watching her
spectacular workout on Monday morning.
“She’s an amazing filly. You hear a lot about fillies taking on the boys in
the Derby. This filly is probably that caliber,” he said. “We’re going to have
our work cut out for us, but if we have our best day and she doesn’t, who knows?
If we both have our best days, we might be in trouble. But we’ve won five in a
row, so we’re happy with her.”
NAN (High Yield) galloped a mile and a quarter before the renovation break
under exercise rider Jose Castanon.
“She’s doing good,” said Aimee Dollase, the sister and assistant to trainer
Craig Dollase. “Now all we need is some luck.”
Hal Wiggins was standing at the gap by the clockers’ stand early Tuesday
morning and trainer D. Wayne Lukas rode up on his pony.
“Hey Hal, your filly got a ‘2’ on the ‘Rag’ sheet yesterday,” Lukas said,
referring to the work put in by Wiggins’ Rachel Alexandra on Monday.
“But I didn’t get a dollar for it,” Wiggins said with a laugh. “She’s got to
do it in the afternoon.”
Rachel Alexandra spent the morning out of the intermittent showers and walked
the shedrow.
“Everything looks good,” Wiggins said. “She got a little tired and I may walk
her again tomorrow.”
Wiggins was asked if he had any concerns about the possibility of an off
track on Friday, even though she handled such a condition extremely well in the
Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) two starts back.
“I don’t think she has ever worked on an ‘off’ track here,” Wiggins said,
“But I don’t think it will affect her.”