Dogwood J

AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

A smart field of seven sophomore fillies will travel one mile in the $100,000
Dogwood S. (G3) at Churchill Downs on Saturday. The second through fifth-place
finishers of the La Troienne S. (G3) will return in this spot, and although we
like a few of them right back, we’ll change the order some.

ALINA (Came Home) had every right to regress some following her game Fantasy
S. (G2) try behind the late Eight Belles two back, and we
won’t hold the fourth-place effort in the La Troienne against the Steve Asmussen charge. The dark
bay filly was a juvenile stakes winner for Bruce Jackson but reached new heights
when being sent out by Asmussen for the initial time, drawing off by an
impressive 18 3/4 lengths in the Green Oaks S. at Delta Downs. Her game Fantasy
run proved her class, and her La Troienne effort was a good stepping stone for
this affair. Shaun Bridgmohan will guide the Kentucky-bred from the rail.

We loved KEEP THE PEACE (Touch Gold) in the La Troienne and will give her a
big chance with her best in this contest. The Eddie Kenneally pupil is a
high-quality chestnut with ample early gas, and all she needs is a little luck
to come out on top in here. The Empire State-bred smoked a
bullet half-mile in advance of this, and if she doesn’t blow the turn as she did
last out, she’ll be tough for Julien Leparoux.

PIOUS ASHLEY (Include), in our mind, was rushed into the Black-Eyed Susan S.
(G2) last out but put in a creditable effort in her first route attempt for Dale
Romans. The talented filly was a smart maiden winner on Derby Day and flashed
some ability in the race at Pimlico, so if she improves off her last, she could
complete some gimmicks at a decent price. Brian Hernandez Jr. will guide the
improving sort.

SECRET GYPSY (Sea of Secrets) established a track record at Saratoga in her
debut last summer and looks like the speed of the field for Ronny Werner. The
Kentucky-bred made her yearly bow and second career start in the La Troienne and
ran well off the lengthy break, leading to the top of the lane before settling
for fifth. The chestnut has every right to improve in her second off the break,
but we still think she will come up short in here under Elvis Trujillo. We’ll
include the speedster in the exotics.

TIZ TO DREAM (Tiznow) was a late third in the La Troienne with a closing
finish along the rail and will look to improve off that showing for Ian Wilkes.
The bay miss had won her two starts prior to the La Troienne and earned a
lifetime best 99 BRIS Speed figure last out, so the Kentucky-bred is a live
exotics threat. We don’t envision the filly topping the whole field, but she
would become especially tough late if the early pace were hot.

ACOMA (Empire Maker) has won two straight against much easier for David
Carroll and gets a deserved stakes try in here. The bay has never topped an 87
BRIS Speed figure and this field is stacked, so her best chance may be to close
late for a minor award. TEMPER TEMPER (Empire Maker) has run two solid races
over this oval but lacks the sufficient BRIS Speed numbers to be a threat at
this stage of her career. The well-bred bay exits a fairly weak race last out
and would need major improvement to challenge these.