KENTUCKY - The star of the show may have been missing from Saturday's Ashland Stakes (Grade I) at Keeneland,, but the remaining players in a top-notch cast put on a spectacular preview of their next meeting on April 30 in the 130th Kentucky Oaks (GI).

With Wertheimer Farm's reigning 2-year-old filly champion Halfbridled on the sidelines because of a minor ailment, Bruce Lunsford's unbeaten Madcap Escapade led from the start and held off the late charge of Ashado to win the Ashland by a half-length. Buckram Oak Farm's Last Song rallied to finish third, four lengths behind the top pair, and Emory Hamilton's La Reina finished last in the field that was reduced to four with the scratch of Halfbridled.

The daughter of Hennessy, who had won her first three races for trainer Frank Brothers by a combined margin of more than 26 lengths, cruised through moderate early fractions under jockey Rene Douglas and completed the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:44.55 over a "fast" track. The Ashland was Madcap Escapade's first test at a two-turn distance and Ashado, who had won last year's Spinaway (GI) at Saratoga and opened her 3-year-old season with a romp in the Fair Grounds Oaks (GII), offered Brothers' filly the first stern challenge of her career.

"She is by far the best filly I've ever trained," said Brothers. "She had to run today. She had to fight a little bit. This is the first time she's gone two turns and she showed today that she is something special."

Madcap Escapade was the 7-10 favorite in the small but star-studded field and the win boosted her career bankroll to $479,200. Lunsford's filly was a late nominee to the Kentucky Derby and the Visa Triple Crown, but her owner, a Louisville businessman and a recent candidate for governor of Kentucky, said her next race would likely be a showdown with Halfbridled in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks.

"I think at this point she has only one horse to test in the Oaks and I hope she (Halfbridled) comes back," said Lunsford. "From my standpoint, I'd be happy to be in the Oaks."

Both Ashado, who is trained by Todd Pletcher, and Last Song, who was saddled by Carl Nafzger, are expected to return to seek a return match with the winner in the Kentucky Oaks.

Halfbridled Now Bound For Beaumont -- Halfbridled made a quick return to training at Keeneland as she galloped over the Lexington, Ky. oval on Saturday and Sunday. The champion filly was scratched from the Ashland by trainer Richard Mandella after she suffered muscle cramps, or "tied up", following a gallop.

The favorite in the third and final pool of the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager is now expected to prep for the Oaks in Thursday's Stonerside Beaumont (GII) at Keeneland. That race, which is run over the "Beard Course" of seven furlongs and 184 feet, served as the final prep for 2003 Oaks winner Bird Town. She ran second in the Stonerside Beaumont to My Boston Gal, who went on to finish fifth in the Oaks.

CALIFORNIA -- Kentucky Oaks contender Silent Sighs, an upset winner over Halfbridled in the Santa Anita Oaks (GI), turned in a brisk five furlong work on Sunday at the Arcadia, Cal. track.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin Wygod's homebred daughter of Benchmark zipped the distance over a "fast" track in 1:00 under jockey David Flores. Trainer Julio Canani is training Silent Sighs up to the Kentucky Oaks. The California-bred filly has a record of 4-1-0 in five races and career earnings of $442,700.

Las Virgenes (GI) winner A.P. Adventure worked five furlongs in :59.60 on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

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