Fiftyshadesofgold,
winner of the Eight Belles at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day,
breezed a half-mile in :49 3/5 Friday morning over Churchill’s fast dirt in her final workout before
shipping to Belmont Park for the Grade 1, $750,000 Acorn on June 7.
“She came out of the last race well,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “She’s been
training very well since then. This was her third breeze since the race and
everything’s been right on schedule. She flies to New York on Thursday and we’ve
been very happy with her.”
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will be back aboard the
three-year-old daughter of My Golden Song in the Acorn. Smith has been on board for
her last two efforts, the Eight Belles victory and a runner-up effort behind
Kentucky Oaks queen Untapable in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Overall, the gray miss
has won four of six starts and placed in her other two.
“I don’t really know who’s going to show up there. It’s going to be a very
tough race, but I’ll leave that in Mike’s hands,” Calhoun said when asked what
type of trip Fiftyshadesofgold needed to win the race.
“She’s very versatile — she’s got speed if you want to use it, but also has
the ability to sit off of it if we need to. One-turn mile races are usually run
pretty fast with a lot of pace and I think she is very adaptable. I think the
mile is actually a little better race for her than the seven-eighths was (in the
Eight Belles).”
Additionally, Calhoun said that Twin Spires Turf Sprint
winner Marchman would be on the plane to Belmont where he will start in
the Grade 3, $300,000 Jaipur Invitational, which also is on the June 7 Belmont
Stakes undercard.
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