Boston Gal Drills Five-Eighths In 1:00 Flat
ATLANTIC OCEAN/SANTA CATARINA - Bob Baffert's two Oaks hopes were on the
track Sunday morning, as Atlantic Ocean galloped and Santa Catarina
worked five furlongs.
Santa Catarina, an Unbridled filly who won her first start as a
3-year-old last out, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 over the fast
track.
"She looked nice out there," Baffert said. "She looked like she
wanted to go."
Santa Catarina broke her maiden at Del Mar, then ran second in
the Del Mar Debutante in August. She was sent to New York for the
Frizette, in which she was second to champion filly Storm Flag Flying.
In the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Arlington Park, she tired to be
third behind Storm Flag Flying, more than 10 lengths back.
"I gave her a break after that," Baffert said. "She needed some
time to get it together. She's starting to act a lot like she did last
summer, which is great to see."
In her comeback race on March 12, Santa Catarina won an optional
claiming/allowance mile at Santa Anita by five widening lengths. Gary
Stevens, who was aboard that day, returns in the irons for the Oaks.
Atlantic Ocean, who has won two of her three stakes starts this
year, will breeze Monday morning, Baffert said. David Flores will have
the mount in the Oaks.
BIRD TOWN/HOLIDAY LADY - Both Nick Zito trainees worked today.
Bird Town went out at 6:45 a.m. under exercise rider Maxine
Correa and breezed five furlongs in
:59 4/5.
Zito and Correa were pleased with the effort.
"She felt really good, really strong," Correa said. "She didn't
want to pull up."
The pony girl who escorted Bird Town to the track asked if she
could bring in a Nick Zito bobblehead doll for Zito to autograph. He
readily agreed.
Soon after, when Zito went to the frontside to watch Holiday
Lady's work, the guard at the main entrance also brought up the dolls
that were a Churchill Downs giveaway during the last meet. "If I'd known
I was going to see you this morning, I would have brought my bobblehead
doll for you to autograph," the guard said.
"Ten thousand of them they gave away,"' Zito said, shaking his
head in bemusement. "It's like a cult thing. You see them everywhere."
After the break, Zito returned to the grandstand to watch
Holiday Lady work a half-mile in :47 3/5 with Correa aboard.
"That was great," Zito told owner Tracy Farmer. "I loved it."
"She was good. She's a different filly (from Bird Town)," Correa
said. "It's steady, steady, steady. She has long legs, a long stride."
ELLOLUV - The Ashland Stakes winner walked the shedrow today after
working six furlongs in 1:13 2/5 under jockey Robby Albarado.
"She came out of the work fine," trainer Craig Dollase said.
"She'll school later today. Everything's fine."
Dollase said he's also considering running the 3-year-old filly
Tangle in the Edgewood Stakes Friday.
The trainer was asked about his memories of his father Wally's first
Kentucky Derby in 1987 with Momentum, who finished 14th.
"I was just a little kid," Dollase said. "I remember just the whole
Derby week, our first Derby. I remember walking over [to the paddock].
It gave you thrills. And I remember our jockey Don Brumfield. He was Mr.
Churchill Downs."
GO FOR GLAMOUR - Trainer Beau Greely caught a red-eye flight from Los
Angeles to Louisville today but didn't arrive in time to see his show
horse in the Santa Anita Oaks and Fantasy Stakes gallop 1 ½ miles under
exercise rider Andy Durnin.
Durnin planned to pick Greely up and bring him to the track to
see the horse later in the morning.
Durnin said he expected Go For Glamour to work but didn't know
when.
IN CASE OF WIND - Karen and James Stone's In Case of Wind just walked
Sunday at Trackside, which is what all of trainer Bill Million's horses
do every Sunday.
"Tomorrow, she'll do a light gallop," Million said, "and Tuesday
or Wednesday she'll go about a mile and a half with the last half at a
two-minute lick. Then maybe I'll jog her the day before the race. I'll
let her tell me what she wants."
ISLAND FASHION - The Winstar/Sunland Oaks winner galloped 1 ½ miles
today under exercise rider Andy Durnin. "She went good," trainer Nick
Cumani said.
The trainer plans to breeze the filly tomorrow about 8:15. He
said he might hire a jockey to ride the work.
"She's doing very well," Cumani said.
LADY TAK - Fair Grounds Oaks winner Lady Tak galloped a mile and
three-quarters before the renovation break with exercise rider Lisa Orn
up.
Scott Blasi, assistant to trainer Steve Asmussen, said Lady Tak
would work in the morning around 6:15 with Donnie Meche up.
Jerry Bailey will ride in the Oaks.
MY BOSTON GAL - Beaumont Stakes winner My Boston Gal had an eventful
morning that culminated in a five-furlong work in 1:00 over a fast track
after the renovation break.
With Tracey Wilkes up, My Boston Gal had to wait in the paddock
after the track was closed for nearly 20 minutes because of an injured
horse at the seven-eighths pole. Then, during the work, another horse
dropped in on her at the head of the lane, drawing the ire of trainer
Carl Nafzger.
"The exercise rider for Akiko Gothard was clocking my filly and
he can't see a pink (saddle) towel," Nafzger said. "They knew it was a
stakes horses and he dropped in on us at the quarter pole. She worked
the last quarter in 23 and 2, which is fine, but it is just
disrespectful of trainers to do that.
"We got what we wanted out of the work, but we wanted her to do
it her way. She got those last eighths in 11.6 and 11.6 and now we will
just tune her up."
Pat Day will ride My Boston Gal in the Oaks.
MY TRUSTY CAT - Trainer David Vance canceled the work planned for My
Trusty Cat today and sent her out to gallop a mile instead.
"She didn't clean up her supper last night," he said. "I decided
to give her today (off). There's no big reason. Fillies are like this
sometimes, and she's always picky with her food anyway. She ate up good
this morning."
He'll decide later about working her tomorrow.
YELL - The Shug McGaughey trainee galloped a mile at Belmont Park today
under exercise rider Donna McMullen.
"She's great," assistant trainer Buzz Tenney said. "She's
feeling good."
Tenney said it appeared the race was shaping up as a good one.
"It always is, or almost always anyway," he said.
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