Fashion Plate works in California; Oaks fillies out in
force at Churchill
Fashion Plate completed the California portion of her preparation for
Friday’s Grade 1, $1 million Kentucky Oaks by working 1:00 2/5 on Saturday
morning over Santa Anita’s fast dirt for trainer Simon Callaghan.
“She worked in company and went very, very well,” Callaghan said. “I got her
in a minute and change. It was a nice maintenance move and she did it well
within herself.”
Callaghan said the Old Fashioned filly would walk Sunday and then ship from
her Southern California base early Monday.
“I will be flying in Tuesday,” Callaghan said. “She will probably jog
Tuesday.”
Gary Stevens has the mount in the Oaks on the dark bay miss, who is exiting
Grade 1 wins in the Santa Anita Oaks and Las Virgenes.
Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Oaks duo
of My Miss Sophia and Got Lucky danced their final preparatory dance together
Saturday morning on Churchill Downs’ fast main track, breaking off as a team at the half-mile
pole and skipping through four furlongs as one with My Miss Sophia (on the
inside) perhaps winning it by a neck.
Clockers caught the pair in an equal time of :49 2/5 for the drill and
assigned early splits of :12 1/5 and :24 2/5. The six-furlong out time registered
at 1:15. The half-mile time was 36th best of 82 at the distance.
Regular exercise riders Humberto
Zamora (My Miss Sophia) and Amy Mulen (Got Lucky) did the driving.
“Many of our horses work together,”
Pletcher noted. “These two have been on the same path. They both ran in the same
race (Gazelle at Aqueduct April 5) last time, they’ll run in the same race
(Kentucky Oaks) Friday and they train together. It was a good move for them
today. They both went off well and finished up well.”
Unlike many other trainers, Pletcher
often puts his work horses right back on the track the next morning. He said he
would consider doing it again with his Oaks fillies.
“We’ll check and see how they’re
doing tonight,” the horseman said. “If all’s good, we might put them on the track
for a jog in the morning.”
The owners of My Miss Sophia — Bill and Terry Mathis of the Mathis Stable —
announced they are pledging a portion of any winning they might realize in
the Oaks to a special cancer fund that is partnering with Churchill Downs.
“It’s a tremendous honor to have My
Miss Sophia competing in the 140th running of the Kentucky Oaks,” the couple
stated in a press release. “We are
especially proud of Churchill Downs for raising cancer awareness while
celebrating its many survivors. We are pledging to Bright Pink 10
percent of any
proceeds My Miss Sophia receives for competing in this historic race. When she
turns for home coming down the stretch she’ll be running to support this most
worthy cause.”
Last-out Ashland dead-heater Rosalind breezed a half-mile in
:49 2/5 under the Twin Spires on Saturday. Covering the first quarter in :24
1/5, the Broken Vow lass galloped out five furlongs in 1:02 3/5 in
her final prep for the Oaks with exercise rider Danny Ramsey up.
“This was just a routine, maintenance breeze,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “She really didn’t
need a lot. She actually went faster than we wanted her to in her last work at
Keeneland.”
The Kentucky Oaks will be just the third start of the year for Rosalind, who ran
third in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park before taking Keeneland’s
Ashland by seven lengths in a dead-heat.
“She’s been drilling the feed tub,” McPeek said. “I don’t know if she’s doing
better than when she went into the Ashland, but definitely just as good.
Typically my best horses have peaked in their third race of the year.”
Joel Rosario has the Oaks mount.
Thank You Marylou, the third
place-finisher in the Ashland, turned five furlongs Saturday in 1:01 for
trainer Mike Maker at Churchill.
With jockey Julien Leparoux riding, the chestnut daughter of
Birdstone posted fractions of :36 3/5 and :48 4/5 while galloping out six furlongs in 1:15
1/5. The five-eighths work was the 11th fastest
of 69 at the distance.
Leparoux said Thank You Marylou appears to prefer dirt to a synthetic surface.
“I think so,” he said. “Yes. That’s what I told Mike and Mr. Ramsey
after the race last time at Keeneland. I think on the dirt, she’s going to be
better, and hopefully, she runs good Friday.”
Prior to the Ashland, Thank You Marylou was a 2 1/2-length victress of the
Any Limit Stakes sprinting seven furlongs over Gulfstream Park’s dirt.
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