Kathmanblu scores in Rachel Alexandra

"She's all class. She always has been," McPeek said. "I think she is a lot

better than she ran today.

"We were a little conservative with her with her workouts coming into the

race. There's a lot of time between now and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and that is

obviously the bigger goal.

"She overcame everything. She got a little stirred up with the delay in the

previous race. I guess they had trouble with the gate and my staff was bringing

her over; she saw the running of the previous race and was really hard to handle

in the paddock. She wasn't her usual self but she got it done."

Kathmanblu didn't do so well in her career debut at Churchill last June,

running eighth against maiden rivals. McPeek decided to switch the bay lass to

the turf next out, and the moved paid off as she posted a half-length score at

Ellis Park on July 17. Given a month's vacation, Kathmanblu returned at Saratoga

against stakes rivals and put in a decent effort to be second in the P. G.

Johnson S.

Something must have clicked for Kathmanblu following the P. G. Johnson, as

she reappeared at Keeneland and dominated the Jessamine S. by four lengths on

October 14. That earned the miss a shot at Breeders' Cup glory, and she rallied

to be third in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G2) following a troubled trip. McPeek

gave his pupil another shot at the dirt in the Golden Rod, and Kathmanblu showed

her true colors when drawing away to be 8 1/2 lengths clear under the Twin

Spires on that occasion.

She made her three-year-old bow back on the grass in the Sweetest Chant S. at

Gulfstream Park, posting a 1 1/4-length victory that day, and this one improved

her record to 8-5-1-1, $470,731.

"We have a choice between the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), the Gulfstream Oaks

(G2), or possibly the Ashland (G1)," McPeek mused over Kathmanblu's next

start. "We will take her back to Miami and Gulfstream. Let her settle in and

take our time. We got no pressure at this point. Hopefully she will dictate

where we go."

Bred by Five D Thoroughbreds in Kentucky, Kathmanblu is the first stakes

winner out of multiple stakes-placed Abba Gold (Devil's Bag), who has since

produced a juvenile colt named Platform (Pulpit). Abba Gold is herself a

daughter of dual stakes heroine Valiant Jewel (Buckley Boy), making her a

half-sister to Friendly Michelle (Artax), who captured the 2004 Prioress S. (G1)

and La Troienne S. (G3) as well as placing in the Acorn S. (G1) and Las Virgenes

S. (G1).

Kathmanblu, who RNA'd for $57,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, comes

from the same family as 2010 Comely S. (G3) runner-up Speightful Affair

(Speightstown).