Puca, Luminance, Birdatthewire and Include Betty breeze ahead of Kentucky Oaks

Puca will enter the Oaks boasting just one career victory (Breeders’ Cup Ltd.)

Donegal Racing’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) hopeful Puca (Big Brown), runner-up in Aqueduct’s Gazelle
S. (G2) on April 4, tuned-up for her May 1 Oaks bid with a four-furlong work in
:48 1/5 over the fast track at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

The three-year-old filly had Jo Lawson in the saddle as she worked in company with stablemate Japan
(Medaglia d’Oro). Puca’s internal fractions were timed by
Churchill Downs clockers in :12 2/5 and :24 2/5 and she galloped out five furlongs
in 1:00 4/5 and six furlongs in 1:14 2/5.

The work by Puca ranked 10th among 57
training moves at the half-mile distance. She started off 1 1/2 lengths in
front of her three-year-old stablemate Japan, who was timed in :48, the eighth-fastest move of the day, for his work.

“I thought it was a good, nice steady
work,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who was at Churchill for his filly’s first work over the
track. “There was plenty of horse the whole way. She finished up good and
galloped out very good.”

The work was the first serious
training move for the Donegal filly, who shipped to Churchill Downs shortly
after her runner-up finish to Kentucky Oaks contender Condo Commando (Tiz
Wonderful) in the
Gazelle. She finished 2 1/2 lengths behind Condo Commando in that race at the
Oaks distance of 1 1/8 miles.

Puca’s lone victory in six career
races was a 16-length romp in a Belmont Park maiden race last October 1. That win was
followed by a troubled sixth-place run while making her stakes debut in the
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita. Her only
other race during her three-year-old season was a fourth-place run in Gulfstream
Park’s Davona Dale S. (G2) on February 21.

“She broke her maiden very
impressively and then she ran well coming back in the Breeders’ Cup where she
had a rough trip and got stopped,” said Mott, who has not saddled a winner
in the Kentucky Oaks. “She’s indicated that she belongs.
She ran second in the Gazelle so she’s coming off of a good race and the horse
that won the Gazelle was alone on the lead with nobody to challenge. So we felt
that if she gets a little pace (in the Oaks), she gets the mile-and-an-eighth
well enough. So we’re going to give her a chance.”

Include Betty took a spin around Keeneland early Saturday morning (Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Forum Racing’s Oaks contender Birddatthewire (Summer Bird) breezed a half-mile
at Churchill Saturday in :47 1/5 with splits of :11 4/5, :23 3/5 and :35 1/5 for
trainer Dale Romans.
Winner of the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and Forward Gal S. (G2), the bay filly galloped out five furlongs in :59
3/5, three-quarters in 1:12 3/5
and seven-eighths in 1:27.

“Birdatthewire is just a push-button horse,” Romans said. “Everything she does
is easy. There are no issues and no problems. If she’s the best horse she’ll
win.”

At Keeneland on Saturday morning, Fantasy S. (G3) winner and Oaks candidate Include Betty
(Include) worked a
half-mile in :53 2/5 immediately after the fast track opened. With regular exercise rider Leo Garcia aboard for trainer
Tom Proctor, the chestnut filly posted fractions of :14 2/5 and :28 4/5 before
galloping out five
furlongs in 1:07 4/5.

Include Betty, owned by Brereton Jones and Tim Thornton, is
scheduled to ship to Churchill on Monday.