A.P. ADVENTURE - The A.P. Indy filly A.P. Adventure was back to the track Tuesday morning following two days of walking the shedrow. Aimee Dollase, the daughter of - and assistant trainer to - the bay's conditioner, Wallace Dollase, oversaw her morning exercise, accomplished with exercise rider Rhett Fincher in the boot. A.P. Adventure will be one of a dozen 3-year-old fillies trying to grab the brass ring in the Grade I, $500,000 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs Friday.

A.P. Adventure, a closing third in the Santa Anita Oaks March 13 in her most recent effort, jogged to the starting gate positioned in the chute at the head of the stretch, spent some time familiarizing herself with it, then finished up with about a three-quarter mile gallop.

"She's feeling good; feeling her oats," Aimee Dollase said. "We'll take her over there Friday and see what happens."

A.P. Adventure drew Post No. 9 in the Tuesday morning draw and will have Mike Smith aboard for the nine-furlong journey.

ASHADO - The dashing filly Ashado, a dark bay or brown daughter of the late sire Saint Ballado, was on the Churchill Downs oval shortly after it opened for training Tuesday morning at 5:15. Michelle Nihei was up on the multiple stakes winner from the Todd Pletcher barn and they toured the big strip once - and then half again - at a gallop.

Ashado, who will be one of the favorites in Friday's $500,000 Kentucky Oaks, appears to be coming up to the nine-furlong, 3-year-old filly classic in tip-top order.

"She's feeling great, really doing well," Nihei offered. "She's a very professional filly. She has lots of class. She always takes care of herself in the mornings. She does things right.

"But since she's come to Churchill, she's really gotten aggressive. Not that she's wound up, just that she likes it here and she really wants to train. The change in her has been noticeable and she's really feeling good."

Besides her early-morning exercise, Pletcher scheduled her for an 11 a.m. tour of the Churchill paddock.

Cornelio Velasquez has the call on Ashado on Friday. They will break from Post No. 1 in the 12-horse field.

HALFBRIDLED - The juvenile filly champion was at the racetrack early this Tuesday morning, taking a mile and one-half tour of the Churchill Downs oval at 6 a.m. with exercise rider Paul Nilluang attached.

Trainer Richard Mandella, who had spent two days in California taking care of his main stable there, was back on the scene to oversee his dark bay or brown filly's leg stretching. He gave his seal of approval to her gallop, as well as her general health and demeanor.

"She's doing well, really well," Mandella noted. "I'm very happy with her."

The trainer indicated that he would give his Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner a short blowout Wednesday morning.

"She'll go three furlongs," he said. "I'm not sure when. We'll figure that one out in the morning."

Halfbridled will have Alex Solis as her partner for the Grade I Oaks and they'll break from Post No. 9. Should the Kentucky-bred miss finish in the top three in the nine-furlong test, she'll add enough bucks to her current bankroll of $959,400 to become a racing millionaire.

HOLLYWOOD STORY - The Wild Rush filly looked alert and happy the morning after shipping in to Churchill Downs from California. She was out on the track after the break Tuesday for a mile and a half gallop with Michelle Jensen, an assistant to trainer John Shirreffs, in the boot.

Shirreffs was due in late Tuesday night, and planned to supervise the filly's activity on Wednesday morning.

Hollywood Story has run second behind A.P. Adventure in the Las Virgenes, and fourth behind Silent Sighs in the Santa Anita Oaks in her two starts at 3. She broke her maiden in the Hollywood Starlet Stakes in December.

Victor Espinoza has the mount again in the Oaks.

HOUSE OF FORTUNE - Multi-stakes winning House of Fortune jogged and galloped this morning under exercise rider Mike Johnson after arriving from California Monday afternoon.

Trainer Ron McAnally was on the scene and reported all is well with the Arnold Zetcher-owned daughter of Free House, impressive victress in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park April 9.

McAnally also brought grass star Sweet Return, who is scheduled to compete in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on Saturday. Shane Sellers will ride House of Fortune in the Kentucky Oaks, replacing Alex Solis, who is committed to Eclipse Award winner Halfbridled for trainer Richard Mandella.

House of Fortune and Sweet Return are stabled in the barn of trainer Pete Vestal. The filly drew post position 5 in the 12-horse Oaks field.

ISLAND SAND - Trainer Larry Jones galloped Island Sand at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning right after the break. A couple of loose horses on the track gave him a few moments of concern, but otherwise the filly had a good exercise.

Jones has only had Island Sand for one start, a second-place effort in the Fantasy Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. Owner Jim Osborne purchased the daughter of Tabasco Cat just prior to the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct, a race she won. Tony Dutrow previously trained the filly to three consecutive victories.

A native Kentuckian, Jones spoke this morning of the importance of the Kentucky Oaks. "This is the best thing other than the Kentucky Derby to win. For a Kentucky boy, this is wonderful.

"Six weeks ago, we didn't even entertain the thought of running in this race. We were just trying to get to the Fantasy. But she's flourished since then.

"The beauty of her is that she has no set running style. She got shuffled back and had to make a late run in the Busanda. But (running on the front end) she broke her maiden by drawing off and winning by 12. And she had a bad post and got challenged for the lead at Oaklawn," he said, describing the many different racing situations she has encountered.

"There's going to be a lot of speed here, so she'll probably be midpack," said Jones. "Halfbridled has shown that she can be beat. I think Ashado has the perfect profile for this race and could be the horse to beat. If we can beat Ashado, we can win the race. We'll see what kind of handicapper I am."

Jones took out his trainer's license in 1981. Prior to that, he trained Quarter Horses and ranch horses in his hometown of Hopkinsville in western Kentucky.

LAST SONG - The daughter of Unbridled's Song had a day off Tuesday, just taking it easy under the shedrow.

"She just walked and did what she wanted to do," said Ian Wilkes, assistant to trainer Carl Nafzger.

Last Song, who runs in the colors of Buckram Oak Farm, won the Bonnie Miss Stakes at Gulfstream, which is contested at the same mile and an eighth distance as the Oaks. Last out she finished third behind Madcap Escapade and Ashado in the mile and a sixteenth Ashland Stakes.

"The extra distance of the Oaks will be to her advantage," Nafzger said. "The farther the better for her."

Nafzger noted there was a lot of speed in the Oaks, and expects his filly will stalk the front-runners before making her move.

"Our filly will run big," Nafzger said.

Edgar Prado, who was aboard in the Bonnie Miss victory, will take the reins again Friday.

MADCAP ESCAPADE - The unbeaten filly by Hennessy was out early for a gallop around the Churchill Downs oval as she prepares for the toughest assignment of her short career.

Bruce Lunsford's miss will be making just her fifth lifetime start, and first at nine furlongs, in the Oaks. Last out, she won her fourth straight by beating Ashado a half-length in the Ashland Stakes.

"Everything's coming along fine," trainer Frank Brothers said.

Brothers, always low-key, smiles when he talks about Madcap Escapade, a good-looking bay filly who has run on the front end in all her starts.

"Pretty is as pretty does," he says of Madcap Escapade, who completed her Oaks work by drilling an eye-opening five furlongs in :58 flat last Friday.

SILENT SIGHS - Mr. and Mrs. Marty Wygod's Silent Sighs, winner of four of five races, including the Santa Anita Oaks over champion Halfbridled in her last start, jogged in the Churchill Downs mile chute this morning under exercise rider Mikki Fincher.

The filly, who arrived from California Monday, drew post position 7 in Friday's Kentucky Oaks and will be ridden by David Flores, who has ridden the Julio Canani-conditioned filly in all of her five efforts. Canani is due in from California Wednesday.

Silent Sighs, a daughter of Benchmark, is stabled in Barn 47 with horses trained by Albert Stall Jr.

STELLAR JAYNE - D. Wayne Lukas has trained four winners of the Kentucky Derby and four winners of the Kentucky Oaks. While he doesn't have a Derby starter this year, he does have a chance to add to his Oaks roster with Stellar Jayne, winner of the Pocahontas Stakes here last November. That victory was her last trip to the winner's circle after spending a winless winter season in California.

"We've been putting her in the deep end of the pool," Lukas said Tuesday morning. "The Santa Anita Oaks, the Fantasy...they were tough races. And this race will be tough, too, but should be better than the others. She has an affinity for this racetrack and the mile and an eighth with this long stretch will be good for her as she's a closer. "If there's a legitimate pace, it will help us. It would be a huge upset for her to win, but even a third- or fourth-place finish would be important to her career. She's already a stakes winner," he said.

Stellar Jayne galloped at Churchill Downs this morning as part of her regular routine.

VICTORY U.S.A./CLASS ABOVE - Padua Stables' Class Above, who breezed a half-mile in :47 2/5 Monday, walked under trainer Bob Baffert's shedrow this morning, while stablemate Victory U.S.A., owned by Thomas Van Meter II and also intended for the Kentucky Oaks Friday, galloped a mile and one-half.

Victory U.S.A., who will have Pat Day up Friday, drew post position 8, while Class Above and jockey Corey Nakatani will break from post position 11.

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