Friday, April 23 Barn Notes
By: Oaks Notes Team
A.P. ADVENTURE - Bob and Beverly Lewis' A.P. Adventure galloped
a mile and a quarter after the renovation break with exercise rider
Rhett Fincher up.
Trainer Wally Dollase plans to work A.P. Adventure five furlongs
after the break Saturday.
Mike Smith will ride in the Oaks.
ASHADO - Multiple graded stakes winner Ashado galloped a mile
and a half under exercise rider Michelle Nihei before the renovation
break.
Trainer Todd Pletcher will monitor the weather and said if he
thinks the track condition would be better Sunday than Saturday, he
would wait a day to work Ashado five furlongs.
John Velazquez has the call for the Oaks.
CLASS ABOVE/VICTORY U.S.A. - Trainer Bob Baffert's pair of
Kentucky Oaks contenders had a routine morning on Friday as each
galloped 1 3/8-miles over a "sloppy" track under exercise rider Dana
Barnes.
Baffert said that Thomas Van Meter II's Victory U.S.A. would
work on Saturday and Padua Stable's Class Above would breeze on Monday.
HALFBRIDLED - Wertheimer Farm's champion Halfbridled galloped
early Friday morning, a day after working six furlongs in 1:12.40.
Regular exercise rider Paul Nilluang was up.
"She has a tendency to tie up, so she doesn't get a day off,"
trainer Richard Mandella said.
Alex Solis will ride in the Oaks.
HOUSE OF FORTUNE - Arnold Zetcher's House of Fortune worked six
furlongs in 1:12.60 at Hollywood Park Friday morning. The work was tied
as the second fastest of 10 works along with multiple graded stakes
winner Sightseek.
The California-bred daughter of Free House, who won the Fantasy
(GII) in her last start, is expected to ship to Churchill Downs on
Monday, April 26. Shane Sellers will ride the dark bay filly.
ISLAND SAND - With jockey Justin Shepherd up, Island Sand worked
five furlongs in 1:01 after the renovation break over a sloppy track.
Fractions on the move were :12.20, :24, :36.20, :48.60 and out
the six furlongs in 1:15.20.
"I wanted to go in a minute or 1:01, so this was fine," trainer
Larry Jones said. "All we need to do is maintain her now."
Island Sand, who arrived from Ellis Park on Thursday afternoon
and was housed in Barn 43, wore blinkers for the work.
"She wore blinkers in her last work before the Fantasy, but
before that she had not," Jones said. "She races in them, and I figured
with as much stuff that is going on around here, I didn't want to take a
chance on her getting out from under him.
"That was about par for the course for her. It looks like
everything is according to schedule. I normally walk two days after a
work like this. Especially with seven days like this, you don't have to
be in a big hurry about getting back to the track. This is it. This is
all that she will do."
Terry Thompson will ride in the Oaks.
LAST SONG - Buckram Oak Farm's Last Song, winner of the Bonnie
Miss (GII) at Gulfstream Park, galloped a mile over the "sloppy" going
under exercise rider Peter Gulyas.
The Carl Nafzger-trained daughter of Unbridled's Song is expected to
have one more work before the April 30 Kentucky Oaks.
MADCAP ESCAPADE - Bruce Lunsford's unbeaten Madcap Escapade
zipped five furlongs over a "sloppy" track on Friday in her final major
tune-up for the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (GI) on April 30.
The Frank Brothers-trained winner of the Ashland (GI) was timed
in a sharp :58.20 as she worked in the rain under jockey Pedro Velez.
The brilliant move was more than two seconds faster than the next best
work on the day and she galloped out six furlongs in a brisk 1:11.20.
"She was in-hand," said Brothers. "It's hard to believe one
would work like that in-hand, but you really had to see the work. But
that's pretty much the way she usually works and it wouldn't bother me
if it came up muddy for the Oaks, I'll tell you that. I don't want to
have a bad day, but she surely liked the 'off' track."
Brothers said the work would be Madcap Escapade's final prep for
the 1 1/8-mile Oaks. He said he now hopes for "a good week" and hopes
that his filly's speed and talent will make her a major player in the
race.
"She's just a hell of an athlete," said Brothers. "There's not
many of them that come along like that. That doesn't make her win the
Kentucky Oaks by no means, but she's a pretty special filly."
Madcap Escapade is perfect in four races and has earned
$479,200. Two-time Oaks winner Jerry Bailey is schedule to ride
Lunsford's filly.
SILENT SIGHS - Mr. & Mrs. Martin Wygod's Silent Sighs breezed
five furlongs in 1:00.80 at Santa Anita. The Julio Canani-trained
daughter of Benchmark, who has won three straight including the Santa
Anita Oaks (GI), will ship to Churchill Downs on Monday, April 26.
David Flores has the call in the Oaks.
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