L and M Partners’ RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro) walked the
“She has already had her bath and is back in her stall,” trainer Hal
Bred by Dolphus Morrison, who is the “M” in L and M Partners with
Wiggins was asked if he had done any scouting of the opposition for
“I saw (Bob) Baffert’s filly (Gabby’s Golden Gal) work on video (1:00
“I have seen Justwhistledixie gallop and she has won five straight and two
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All three D. Wayne Lukas-trained fillies — BE FAIR (Exchange Rate), STONE
LEGACY (Birdstone) and TWEETER (Unbridled’s Song) — galloped over Churchill’s
track on Wednesday morning in preparation for a meeting with likely odds-on
favorite Rachel Alexandra in the Oaks.
“What we’re going to do in the Oaks is I’m going to put Be Fair over there by
the (track) kitchen; I’m going to put Tweeter right here (at the backstretch
gap); and we’re going to tag around and keep barreling so we can hold off that
monster,” said the Hall of Fame trainer, who also will saddle Stone Legacy, who
apparently has been designated to start for Lukas’ tag team.
Lukas, who has saddled four Oaks winners, said Rachel Alexandra would be a
threat to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) had her connections opted to run her
against the boys.
“She’d be super tough. If you’re a handicapper — and I’m a terrible one —
Mike Rutherford’s homebred FLYING SPUR (Giant’s Causeway) galloped over the
Trainer Bill Mott said everything was fine with the filly, a daughter of the
Flying Spur was winless in three starts — two of them on turf — last year
“It took her a couple of times to break her maiden,” Mott said. “It wasn’t
Mott said he expected her to make progress.
“I think the horses by her sire tend to get a little better with age,” Mott
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Mott said Flying Spur likes the muddy conditions she trained over.
“Her best races are on a wet track,” he said. “She broke her maiden in the
mud and her best races are in the mud.”
Mott is fine with the forecast of stormy weather this week
“We’re all for it,” he said. “Rain would be good for us.”
Trainer Bob Baffert sent Arnold Zetcher’s homebred GABBY’S GOLDEN GAL
(Medaglia d’Oro) out to gallop 1 1/2 miles over the muddy track Wednesday. Hall
of Fame trainer Ron McAnally handled the filly before she was moved to Baffert’s
care last fall.
“Ron was really high on her last year and he told me she could really run,”
Baffert said. “He was right.”
Gabby’s Golden Gal earned her trip to the Oaks with a 13-length victory in
the Sunland Park Oaks. Baffert said the race at the eastern New Mexico track was
her first test on dirt and going two turns.
“She really just loved the distance,” Baffert said. “She came back and really
wasn’t tired. But she’s running against a totally different group of horses
here.”
Baffert made the decision to go forward after seeing how she handled the
Churchill Down surface.
“It’s a tough race,” he said. “You have Rachel Alexandra, who’s just a freak
of all freaks. But I liked what I saw here. I brought a bunch of horses here and
the ones that didn’t train well I’m not running, like Indian Blessing (Indian
Charlie). I just didn’t like the way she trained here. She just didn’t have any
bounce in her step.
“This filly has been training really well here. It’s really hard to get
excited knowing that Rachel Alexandra and some other fillies are in there; it’s
a pretty competitive race. It’s the Kentucky Oaks. She’s doing well. I don’t
think the distance will be a problem for her.”
JUSTWHISTLEDIXIE (Dixie Union) galloped 1 1/4 miles under Danny Wright before
the renovation break at Churchill Downs Wednesday morning.
“The track was a little bit wet but she seemed to handle it fine. She was a
McLaughlin expressed satisfaction with Justwhistledixie going in post
“Five of eight is perfect. Rachel Alexandra might wish that she was inside of
McLaughlin has the utmost respect for Rachel Alexandra, but he’s not ready to
“Rachel Alexandra, the way she trains, she seems very aggressive, and I don’t
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Kiaran McLaughlin is expected to be at Churchill Downs Thursday morning.
J. Paul Reddam’s NAN (High Yield) galloped 1 1/8 miles over the muddy track
before the renovation break under exercise rider Sergio Martin. Trained by Craig
Dollase, Nan will break from post position 7 in Friday’s Oaks and be ridden by
Corey Nakatani.
Dollase will not be here for the Oaks as his daughter Audrey is having her
First Communion. Craig’s sister Aimee, along with their father, Wally, is
overseeing the filly’s preparations.
“She has been here since she ran in the Ashland ([G1] on April 4 at
Keeneland),” Aimee said. “She is a nice filly. I wasn’t with her when she was in
California with Craig.”
So, what kind of scouting reports has Aimee given her brother?
“They all look like good fillies and then there’s Rachel Alexandra,” Aimee
said. “She worked fast the other day; she’s a tremendous filly.”