Blind Luck gallops, schools ahead of Oaks

Last updated: 4/29/10 9:19 PM

Blind Luck strikes a reflective pose
(Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

Kentucky Oaks (G1) morning-line favorite BLIND LUCK (Pollard’s Vision) visited the
paddock Thursday morning before galloping 1 1/2 miles and also schooled in the
paddock during Thursday’s 2ND race. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Blind
Luck
simply will walk the shedrow Friday morning on the brink of her Oaks attempt.

Hollendorfer has two Oaks wins on his resume, Lite Light (1991) and Pike Place
Dancer (1996), and stands a major chance to add a third. It’s a race that he’s
grown fond
of over the years.

“I’ve won it twice, but you never get tired of adding the Kentucky Oaks to your
resume,” he said. “It’s hard to compare horses over the years. Pike Place Dancer
was so
much of a bigger horse than the other two, Lite Light and Blind Luck. I’d say
Blind Luck
has a lot of the same style as Lite Light.”

Does the trainer think Blind Luck is his best Oaks chance ever?

“You can’t say that,” he said laughing. “Because we’ve already won the other
two! I’ll take two known wins over a morning-line favorite any day you offer
it.”

CHAMPAGNE D’ORO (Medaglia d’Oro) was once again on
the track as soon as it opened at 5:45 a.m. (EDT) Thursday.
The attractive bay lass jogged one mile and galloped one mile under
exercise rider Froylan Garcia.

Trainer Eric Guillot has
joked that
the reason he goes so early, as opposed to during the Derby and Oaks training
session, is
so that nobody will see what he’s up to. The real reason, though, is far more
practical.
With Champagne d’Oro his only horse at Churchill Downs, the trainer has no help
of his
own to rely on and doesn’t want to be at the track after training hours end
tending to his
filly.

Later in the morning, Champagne d’Oro was brought out of her stall to show off
for some visitors and elicited glowing compliments from onlookers for her good
looks
and exceptionally dappled coat.

Guillot picked Champagne d’Oro out of Keeneland’s September 2008 Yearling
Sale, where she was purchased for $210,000.

“I picked her out because of her demeanor,” Guillot said. “She came out and
started walking and had her neck lowered and her ears pricked. I told Mike
(Moreno,
owner, Southern Equine Stables), man, if she’s good up front I’m going to buy
this filly.”

Amen Hallelujah has won or placed in eight of nine starts
(Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

CRISP (El Corredor), winner of the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) in her
most recent
effort, went trackside at 6:10 a.m. Thursday for a good gallop of 1 1/2 miles
under exercise rider Lupillo Alferez.

Trackside in the viewing stand next to the six-furlong gap known as the “Lukas
gap” because of its proximity to the Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas’ barn
on the
Churchill Downs backstretch, were Crisp’s trainer, John Sadler, and owner,
Michael
Talla.

“We’ve got to beat Jerry’s filly (Blind Luck),” Sadler said. “She’s tough. But I
think all three
California fillies in the race (Blind Luck, Crisp and EVENING JEWEL [Northern
Afleet]) could run
well. Both
of the other two have shipped out (of California) and won stakes this year and
I’d hope
we could, too.”

Blind Luck captured Oaklawn Park’s Fantasy S. (G2) on April 2
and Evening Jewel scored by a neck in Keeneland’s Ashland S. (G1)
the following day.

Sadler indicated that he would put Crisp on the racetrack early Friday morning
for
a one-mile jog.

“Just a little something to take the edge off,” Sadler said. “She won’t be
racing
until late in the afternoon and if they have to wait in the barn all day they
get too antsy.”

IT’S TEA TIME (Dynaformer) completed her preparations
for
Friday’s Oaks with a 1 1/2-mile gallop after the renovation break with exercise Ronin
Quinn up.

“She’ll walk in the morning,” trainer Rusty Arnold said. “She’s done. She
schooled in the paddock yesterday and was excellent, even though it will be
totally
different Friday. She galloped well this morning.”

Tidal Pool is inbred to both Flying Paster and the successful broodmare Bad Seed
(Lauren Pomeroy/Horsephotos.com)

It’s Tea Time is the least experienced of the 14 Oaks starters with only three
career starts. Also, she is the only Oaks starter not to have raced as a
two-year-old.

Is Arnold surprised to be sitting a day away from putting his filly
in
the Kentucky Oaks starting gate?

“Absolutely. Everything had to go well,” Arnold stated. “If she hadn’t run as well
as she did in the Ashland (a fast-closing second to Evening Jewel),
we would
not be having this conversation. We would be looking at a grass stake the middle
of next
month at Arlington Park.

“She ran well enough to tempt me and then the way she came out of the race also
tempted me. She is a big, strong filly and we are going to take our shot.”

JOANIE’S CATCH (First Tour) galloped 1 1/2 miles at
Churchill Thursday to the satisfaction of Calder Race Course-based trainer Barry
Rose.
The Rose Family Stable homebred has finished first, second or third in 16 of
18
starts, only finishing off-the-board in a two-furlong sprint in her debut and
the Susan’s
Girl S. in her eighth start because of sudden problems in the starting gate.

“We took the blinkers off and spent a month every day at the starting gate,”
Rose
said. “We figured it out. Now she doesn’t have a problem. You’ll notice she’ll
go into the
gate with a blanket on her back.”