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Oaks Entrants
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Trainer |
Jockey |
Owner |
Breeder |
Kenneally, 39, is from County Waterford, Ireland and initially came to the States and worked as an assistant for fellow European trainers Tom Skiffington and Niall O'Callaghan. He began training on his own in 1993, privately conditioning for Jack Kent Cooke's Elmendorf Farm, and he went on to open a public stable four years later in 1997. Now a Louisville resident, Kenneally captured his first Churchill Downs stakes victory with Belle of Perintown in 2002 in the Gr. III Pocahontas. That filly went on to also win the Gr. II Silverbulletday that winter at Fair Grounds. Kenneally is coming off his best year at Churchill Downs as a trainer, having saddled the winners of both the Gr. III Aristides Breeders' Cup Handicap (Kelly's Landing) and the Gr. III Iroquois (Catcominatcha) in 2005, and Gr. I winner Bushfire will be his first starter in the Oaks. |
A native of Panama, Velasquez first established himself as an apprentice by leading his country in 1985. He then won the leading rider title in Panama as a journeyman in 1994 and again in '95. After a 14-year career in his native country, he came to the Uinted States and launched successful campaigns in California and New York before basing himself at Calder Race Course in South Florida. In 2002, he swept the leading riding honors at Calder, winning both the regular season and Tropical titles, in addition to riding regularly at Churchill Downs. His biggest victory since his arrival in the U.S. came aboard Cajun Beat in the 2003 Gr. I Breeders' Cup Sprint. He has won over 2,000 races in his career and has had a pair of mounts in the Kentucky Derby. His best finish in the Run for the Roses came a year ago in 2005 when he nearly pulled off a huge upset aboard 72-1 shot Closing Argument before being nipped by fellow longshot Giacomo in the late stages, settling for second. |
Ron and Ricki Rashinski are the owners that make up Homewrecker Stable LLC. The Illinois-based couple has made horse racing one of their primary hobbies since the turn of the century, and they currently own a string of horses with a few different trainers around the south and Midwest. They have campaigned such stakes winners in recent years as Vicki Vallencourt and Grey Velvet, as well as 2006 Oaklawn Park stakes winner Celluloid Hero. Three Hour Nap gave the Rashinski's their first graded stakes win in 2004, capturing the Gr. III Arlington-Washington Breeders' Cup Futurity, and Bushfire - their best horse to date - gave them their first Grade I victory when taking the prestigious Ashland at Keeneland on April 8th. |
Bio Coming Soon |
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05.01.06 :: Bushfire Gallops at CD - Video Update 
04.21.06 - Bushfire, Itty Bitty Pretty Work
04.10.06 - Bushfire Rolls In Ashland Upset, Balance Third
04.08.06 - Bushfire Too Fast For Balance, Wait a While In Ashland
04.07.06 - Balance Heads Keeneland's $500,000 Ashland
04.06.06 - Ashland Presents Tough Final Tune Up For Balance
03.18.06 - Bushfire Blazes In Florida Oaks
03.16.06 - Florida Oaks An Important Stepping Stone For Crystal Current
02.06.06 - Wait A While Leaves All Others Behind in Davona Dale
02.04.06 - Wait a While Delays Start, Then Romps In Davona Dale
02.03.06 - Davona Dale Attracts Wonder Lady Anne L, Wait A While
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DRF Past Performances
Next Race: 05.05 Kentucky Oaks (GI)
Future Wager Odds
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Pool # |
Date |
Horse # |
Final Odds |
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3 |
04.06-09 |
4 |
9-1 |
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2 |
03.02-05 |
24* |
9-2 |
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1 |
01.26-29 |
24* |
7-2 |
* = Part of the mutuel field
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Race History :: Graded Earnings: $310,000 (as of 04.08.06) - Race Record: 6-4-0-1
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Date |
Race |
Finish |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Comments |
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04.08.06 |
Ashland (GI) |
1st |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Controlled pace, ran away from Wait a While and Balance in the stretch |
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03.18.06 |
Florida Oaks |
1st |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Contested quick early pace, shook clear, held off Saratoga Drive late |
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02.04.06 |
Davona Dale (GII) |
7th |
Chart |
Recap |
Video |
Forward early, faded badly to last on sloppy track |
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01.13.06 |
Allowance @ Gulfstream |
1st |
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Video |
Clear lead to stretch, gamely held off Teammate |
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11.25.05 |
Maiden special weight @ Churchill |
1st |
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Video |
Easy wire-to-wire win in first two turn start |
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06.24.05 |
Maiden special weight @ Churchill |
3rd |
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Speed inside, weakened to third |
Recent Workouts
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Date |
Track |
Distance |
Time |
Rank |
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04.29 |
Keeneland (fast) |
4 furlongs |
47.40 H |
2/34 |
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04.21 |
Keeneland - All Weather (fast) |
4 furlongs |
50.60 B |
3/14 |
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04.01 |
Palm Meadows (fast) |
4 furlongs |
48.80 H |
14/36 |
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Bushfire does not possess one of the more flashy pedigrees that you'll see when discussing Derby and Oaks horses, but both her sire (Louis Quatorze) and dam (Traki Traki) were very nice racehorses in their own right and that quality has been passed down to her.
An earner of more than $2 million on the track, Louis Quatorze is most renowned for his Classic victory in the 1996 Preakness (GI). A top shelf racehorse over a route of ground, Louis Quatorze also won the prestigious Jim Dandy (GII) at three and earned solid placings in elite races such as the Blue Grass Stakes (GII), Travers (GI), and Breeders' Cup Classic (GI). Hailing from the Northern Dancer sireline, Louis Quatorze didn't possess a stellar pedigree in his own right, being by Northern Dancer's son Sovereign Dancer out of a On to Glory mare, but he has gone on to sire such top stakes horses around two turns as Repent, Choctaw Nation, Second of June and Herculated.
Traki Traki nabbed six wins from three years of racing on the Florida circuit, including winning the traditional Old Hat Stakes at Gulfstream Park. She has proven to be a very good producer, having thrown seven winners from eight to race - including four stakes winners and five to earn more than six figures.
There are several key stamina influences in Bushfire's pedigree, including Tom Rolfe five generations back on the dam side. She is also 5x5 to the important sire of sires Native Dancer, and while she possesses a lot of speed, the extra sixteenth of a mile in the Oaks should not present a problem for Bushfire.
Dosage Index: 9.00
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The feeling is that a lot of players are going to dismiss BUSHFIRE in this race off the perception that her Ashland win was fluky due to the speed bias she took advantage of that day at Keeneland, but this filly has knocked heads with some of the better fillies in this division all year and merits significant respect. While her front-running style does not appear to be advantageous in an Oaks field that looks to have an abundance of fillies wanting the early lead, Bushfire should be able to sit a nice stalking trip on the outside from her 10-post, while Miss Norman, Diplomat Lady and Red Cherries Spin scramble for the early lead from the inside. If this beautiful daughter of Louis Quatorze can settle for jockey Cornelio Velasquez down the backstretch and enjoy that type of trip, she possesses the class to be a hand full in the stretch run. The facts remain that she has ultra-solid form coming in off of back-to-back stakes victories, and with that, it seems as though she also still has a lot of room for further improvement. Her only poor race to date was over a very sloppy track at Gulfstream, but aside from that she has been a model of consistency and has won races at four different tracks, which shows that she doesn't have to carry her track with her. She has looked good galloping at Churchill Downs in her limited action over the track this week, and her past experience over this surface at two should benefit her on Friday. Not sure if she can withstand Balance's kick if that filly fires her best, but Bushfire is undoubtedly as good as the others and may be an appealing proposition at around 6-1. She should be right there with her best. Respect.
- Joel Cunningham |
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Oaks Information
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