Oaks Updates

Dawn and Ike Thrash's Dawn After Dawn signaled her readiness for the Kentucky Oaks by working five furlongs in 1:00.20 on Sunday morning. The move impressed trainer Wesley Hawley and was the third-fastest of 26 at the distance over a track labeled "fast."

AUTOBAHN GIRL - On the morning after working five furlongs in 1.01.60 at Churchill Downs, Autobahn Girl was tack-walked on Sunday morning.

"It was a good work for her," said Heather Stark, assistant to trainer Nick Zito. "She came out of it great."

Eddie Castro has the mount on Live Oak Stud's homebred filly for the Kentucky Oaks (GI).

CASH INCLUDED - The Craig Dollase-trained Cash Included was given the day off Sunday after working six furlongs in 1:14.20 at Churchill Downs Saturday morning.

"No news today," said Wally Dollase, who has been overseeing the daily training of his son's Kentucky Oaks contender.

Cash Included, who walked the shedrow Sunday, will be ridden in the Oaks by Corey Nakatani.

COTTON BLOSSOM/OCTAVE/RAGS TO RICHES - The Oak-E-Dokey Trio out of the Todd Pletcher barn was active Sunday morning, especially so in the case of the likely favorite for the 133^rd edition of the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (GI) Friday.

The triple Eclipse Award-winning trainer had his threesome out for some exercise, starting with the Broken Vow filly Cotton Blossom, who had drilled five furlongs (1:00) the previous morning. Many trainers walk their horses the day after a work, but Pletcher felt it better to get his tall, dark miss trackside and she jogged an easy mile around the Keeneland oval at 6 a.m. with regular exercise rider Valerie Buck in the irons.

In the 6:30 set, which included Kentucky Derby ace Any Given Saturday, the trainer had another previous-day worker - the Unbridled's Song lass Octave - also head back to the track for a simple one-mile jog. Exercise rider Pierre Goday was on the gray filly's back and they accomplished their mission in good order.

In the 7:15 set, though, things got more serious. Out of Barn 6 came the white-faced chestnut filly Rags to Riches with Loren Robson at the controls. Right behind her came the Kentucky Derby-bound colt Circular Quay with "retired" Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. ready to rumble.

The co-ed twosome moved trackside in front of a crowd of several hundred onlookers and they jogged an easy mile the wrong way around the Polytrack oval. Next they took up posts side-by-side near the finish line on the outer rail and took a few deep breaths, just letting the world spin and the few workers and gallopers on the track go by.

Shortly thereafter, they set out together and moved easily around the clubhouse turn to the six-furlong marker where they came together and began a steady march toward the "five." As they went past the five-panel pole - with Rags to Riches snugly inside - both horses leveled off nicely and got into a controlled tussle the appeared to draw the best out of both of them.

Clockers caught the team drill in :24.40 for the quarter and 1:00.20 for the finish, with an "out" time for the pair of 1:12.

Afterward, heading back to the barn, trainer Pletcher discussed the move by his filly, who appears to be the horse that will have the most win money next to her number in the Grade I, nine-furlong Oaks.

"I liked her work," the conditioner noted. "She's been winning all her races on the outside, so we're schooling her here by putting her down on the inside. You can't get any dirt kick-back here, but you can teach them about being in tight. Angel (Cordero Jr. on Circular Quay) was leaning on her a little bit, but that's what we wanted. This was some good education for her. The work will suit her well."

Garrett Gomez has the call on Rags to Riches in what is likely to be a 14-horse field.

DAWN AFTER DAWN - Dawn and Ike Thrash's Dawn After Dawn signaled her readiness for the Kentucky Oaks by working five furlongs in 1:00.20 after the renovation break Sunday morning with jockey Robby Albarado up. The move was the third-fastest of 26 at the distance over a track labeled "fast."

"Robby's happy and I'm happy," trainer Wesley Hawley said after the work. "She went off with her neck bowed down the backside and when Robby asked her, she had her ears pricked. She did it easy."

Sunday was only the second day that Dawn After Dawn had been on the track at Churchill Downs after spending her first days in Kentucky at the Trackside Training Center.

"She galloped real good here yesterday and it looks like she handles this track well," Hawley said.

Hawley said he may take Dawn After Dawn to the paddock Wednesday afternoon and would do some gate schooling.

"I will probably go to the gate a couple of times just in case we get the one or three hole," Hawley said. "It looks like there are going to be 13 or 14 of them. Nobody is afraid of Rags to Riches or Octave and certainly not us, but they should be. I think she is going to run big."

DREAMING OF ANNA - The 2006 Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old filly walked the shedrow this morning under the watchful eye of trainer Wayne Catalano. The conditioner reports that his Kentucky Oaks filly came out of Saturday's bullet workout (five furlongs in :58.60) in "excellent" shape.

Dreaming of Anna is bedding down in the stall right next to her full brother, Lewis Michael, the only two horses Catalano has at Churchill. His 40-horse string is based at Arlington. Catalano said the siblings are not traveling companions, though, "They've been getting to know each other a lot more lately since they were both at Keeneland before this."

Rene Douglas will ride the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner in Friday's Oaks. Dreaming of Anna will try to match Silverbulletday, the only filly in history to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Kentucky Oaks. Ashado won the Oaks and later added the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

HIGH AGAIN - Churchill Downs' all-time leading trainer by wins, Bill Mott, seeks his first Kentucky Oaks victory this Friday when he saddles Bonnie Miss (GII) winner High Again. The Zayat Stables' color-bearer galloped 1 1/2 miles Sunday morning and Mott reports, "Everything's well."

High Again will turn in her final major Oaks prep Monday morning with a four-furlong workout. Larry Melancon will be aboard for Monday's drill, while regular rider Cornelio Velasquez has the Oaks assignment.

HIGH HEELS - Anita Ebert's High Heels walked the shedrow at trainer Gary Hartlage's barn Sunday morning, a day after working five furlongs in 1:00.40.

"She's looking good this morning," Hartlage said of the filly, who will be ridden in the Oaks by Joe Johnson.

Hartlage was asked if any Oaks hopeful had caught his eye from the viewing stand at the 5 ½-furlong gap in the past few days.

"Dreaming of Anna worked awfully good yesterday (a bullet :58.60 for five furlongs)," Hartlage said. "I don't know what she has been doing lately, but she sure looked good yesterday."

MISTICAL PLAN - In her final exercise over Keeneland's Polytrack, the filly jogged around the oval on Sunday morning as did her stablemates and Kentucky Derby candidates, Cobalt Blue, Great Hunter and Liquidity. Trainer Doug O'Neill continued to report that his horses were doing "fantastic" heading into the first week of May. The O'Neill horses were scheduled to begin the trip to Churchill Downs about 10:30 a.m. and settle in at Barn 28.

SEALY HILL - Melnyk Racing Stables' Sealy Hill walked the shedrow at Barn 17 on Sunday morning, a day after working five furlongs in 1:01.20.

Norman Casse, son of trainer Mark Casse, said everything was well with filly and that she would return to the track in the morning.

Patrick Husbands has the Oaks riding assignment.

SWIFT TEMPER - Mark Stanley's Swift Temper had the morning off Sunday after working a half-mile in :47.80 on Saturday.

"Our filly is doing very well this morning," trainer Bobby Barnett said. "She will go back to the track in the morning."

Barnett was asked if he had scouted any of his probable Oaks competition.

"The only one I have seen is Bill Mott's filly (High Again) and I saw her at the gate yesterday," Barnett said. "But I am sure I will be seeing a lot more this week."

ulien Leparoux will ride in the Oaks.

TOUGH TIZ'S SIS - Trainer Bob Baffert sent his Kentucky Oaks candidate Tough Tiz's Sis through a solid pre-race drill Sunday morning at Santa Anita, one the local clockers timed in 1:11.40.

"I really only worked her five (eighths)," the white-haired trainer said. "But she galloped out so strong they gave her the six time. I had her going the five-eighths in :59 and 2."

Baffert had jockey Martin Garcia aboard for the move, but will give the filly's regular rider, Victor Espinoza, a leg up next Friday.

"I liked her work," the trainer noted. "Good horses work good, so that's no surprise. We'll be shipping Wednesday - both me and the horse - and then Friday we'll find out whether she's good enough."

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