Oaks Updates

AUTOBAHN GIRL - Live Oak Plantation's Autobahn Girl galloped a mile and a half at Churchill Downs Tuesday morning in preparation for Friday's Kentucky Oaks (GI). Exercise rider Heather Stark was pleased with the manner in which the 3-year-old daughter of A. P. Indy gets over the Churchill racing surface.

"She loves this track," said Stark, also an assistant to trainer Nick Zito. "She ran twice here last year. She finish second in her first race and won by daylight in her next race."

Eddie Castro will ride Autobahn Girl, who will be making her graded-stakes debut in the Oaks after finishing first or second in seven of her eight lifetime races.

As Zito had indicated earlier in the week, Silver Knockers was not entered for the Oaks.

CASH INCLUDED - Tuesday morning was all about getting Cash Included into a comfort zone at Churchill Downs. After the renovation break, the Oak Leaf Stakes (GI) winner was backtracked to the paddock, where she walked and stood in a stall, before galloping a mile.

"I feel good about her," said trainer Wally Dollase, who has been deputized by his son, Craig, to train Cash Included for her start in Friday's Kentucky Oaks (GI). "She did everything well. With fillies, they get nervous sometimes, so you want to get them familiar with everything around them. Now, all I need to do is paddock her in the afternoon this week."

A longtime leading trainer in California, Dollase move to Louisville a couple of years ago.

"I enjoy the people and the horses - that's my business, the horse business. This is the main headquarters for it," said Dollase. "I'm here seven months of the year and out there five months of the year."

COTTON BLOSSOM/OCTAVE/RAGS TO RICHES - The trio of Oaks gals out of the Todd Pletcher barn stretched their legs a bit Tuesday morning on the Polytrack strip  at Keeneland prior to being readied for a ship to their date in Friday's $500,000 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

Cotton Blossom, Octave and Rags to Riches had their regular exercise riders aboard for their gallops --- Cotton Blossom covering a mile and one quarter, while the other two went around the one-mile oval one time.

Cotton Blossom was handled by Valerie Buck, Octave by Pierre Goday and Rags to Riches by Loren Robson.

The three lassies - all of them stakes winners - are as different as different can be in appearance, but they all have the quality that horsemen love - they can run.

Cotton Blossom is a tall, dark bay with a nice turn of early foot. The daughter of Broken Vow will be handled by 2006 Eclipse Award winner Edgar Prado in the nine-furlong Oaks.

Octave, a solid gray by Unbridled's Song, is a stretch runner deluxe who will get the saddle services of the 2005 Eclipse Award winner John Velazquez.

Rags to Riches is a sturdy chestnut with a flashy white face. She's shown a powerhouse stretch kick in her races, including a daylight score in the Santa Anita Oaks (GI). The daughter of A.P. Indy will be handled by her regular rider, Garrett Gomez.

The Pletcher contingent was scheduled to ship to Churchill by van Tuesday afternoon and arrive around feeding time at 4:30. Included in the group are four of his five Kentucky Derby hopefuls - Any Given Saturday, Circular Quay, Cowtown Cat and Scat Daddy.

 
DAWN AFTER DAWN - Ike and Dawn Thrash's Dawn After Dawn galloped a mile and a half at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning for trainer Wesley Hawley.  She will school in the starting gate Wednesday morning as she continues preparations for the Kentucky Oaks.

Ike Thrash named the filly after his wife Dawn.  The two reside in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  Ike, 54, is the president of Old South Real Estate & Investments, a residential construction, development and sales company that has developed projects from Mississippi to Arizona worth over $400 million.

Hawley trains a few a horses for the Thrashes and recently purchased five 2-year-olds for the couple.  The Thrashes have campaigned stakes winners before, including Chin High (2006 Transylvania Stakes winner at Keeneland, paid $139 to win), but Dawn After Dawn is their first Kentucky Oaks starter.

Hawley is originally from Oklahoma and became involved in horse racing when he was about 15-years-old through his stepfather, who owned and trained Thoroughbreds.

"I fell in love with the hustle and bustle of the racetrack," said Hawley, who attended the University of Arizona's Racetrack Industry Program before becoming a trainer.

Hawley isn't overly concerned with the post position draw for the Oaks.  "The post position doesn't really matter, although I would like to be inside of the 10 hole."

He added, "In my opinion, it's a pretty balanced field.  Nobody's scared of Rags to Riches or Octave and they've all taken turns beating each other, other than Rags to Riches.  My filly will run good.  She'll be sitting off them with her neck bowed."

DREAMING OF ANNA - The 2006 Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly continued her progress toward Friday's Kentucky Oaks with a 1 ½-mile gallop Tuesday morning under trainer Wayne Catalano. She hit the track at 7:50 a.m. just prior to the renovation break.

Catalano indicated, "We wanted to beat the heat a little bit. She doesn't like it when it's too warm."

Dreaming of Anna has not won a race since going wire-to-wire in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last fall at Churchill Downs. Her two losses in Florida this year haven't dulled her luster in the eyes of her trainer.

"She was going through some growing spurts," Catalano said. "I just let her catch up and we hit the re-set button. Her first time out (Feb. 10 Old Hat Stakes), she stumbled at the start and was just scrambling around behind a runaway winner. Rene (Douglas) just wrapped up on her down the lane. Her second start - on turf (Feb. 25 Gaily Gaily Stakes) - was a very good effort behind a real nice horse (next-out Appalachian Stakes winner Audacious Chloe)."

HIGH AGAIN - Zayat Stables' Bonnie Miss (GII) winner High Again walked the shedrow 45 minutes Tuesday morning, one day after a strong :47.80 half-mile breeze at Churchill Downs. All systems appear "go" for the Bill Mott trainee.

High Again exits a fourth-place finish over Polytrack at Keeneland in the Ashland (GI). While the effort was a bit of a disappointment, Mott said that since it was on a synthetic surface, he's not quite sure the result should be taken at face value.

"She didn't close well on it at all," the Hall of Famer said. "When it comes to Polytrack, I honestly don't quite know what to think of it yet. Time will tell on all of that."

HIGH HEELS - Anita Ebert's High Heels had a busy morning Tuesday at Churchill Downs, visiting the paddock, going to the starting gate and then galloping a mile under exercise rider Jimmy Connolly.

"She was out there about 40 minutes and did real good," trainer Gary Hartlage said.

High Heels has run four times at Churchill Downs, and her one victory here came on a muddy track last fall. With a 60 percent chance of rain Wednesday and Thursday and a 30 percent chance Friday in the Louisville area, Hartlage was asked if the mud would be a concern.

"It wouldn't bother me and I don't think it would bother her at all," Hartlage said. "Her mother (Ornate) loved the mud."

High Heels is a homebred for Ebert, who purchased a home in the Louisville area three weeks.

Ebert had a good reason for choosing the name for the E Dubai filly.

"If you are going to go to the winner's circle, you have to dress up," Ebert said.

Joe Johnson has the Oaks riding assignment.

MISTICAL PLAN: Exercise rider Tony Romero walked Mistical Plan through the Churchill Downs paddock then jogged her three-quarters of a mile and galloped her about 1 1/4 miles.

"She's doing great," said trainer Doug O'Neill. "She really seems to like the firm dirt track here, and she's run well on it. I think coat-wise and weight-wise, she's doing as good as ever."

J. Paul Reddam owns Mistical Plan, who was second in Churchill's Pocahontas Stakes (G3), last October, and two of her Kentucky Derby (G1) stablemates, Great Hunter and Liquidity. Corey Nakatani, who will ride Great Hunter in the Kentucky Derby, will ride Mistical Plan in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

SEALY HILL - Melnyk Racing Stables' Sealy Hill galloped a mile and a half before the renovation break with Julia Brimo up Tuesday morning.

Trainer Mark Casse is scheduled to return to Louisville on Wednesday to oversee the Point Given filly's final preparations for Friday's Kentucky Oaks. Patrick Husbands will ride.

Four of Sealy Hill's five starts have come on Polytrack, but Norman Casse, Mark's son who is manning the fort at Barn 17, said an off track would not be a hindrance to Sealy Hill.

"The two days last week that we had rain and the track was muddy, Julia said she handled it real well," Casse said. "We were kind of joking around that we'd like to see it pour for a couple of hours before the race and then have the sun come out when they hit the wire."

SWIFT TEMPER - Mark Stanley's Swift Temper was one of the first horses on the track Tuesday morning, galloping a mile and five-eighths under exercise rider Mario Covento up.

Trainer Bobby Barnett continues to like what he sees of the Giant's Causeway filly and he would not mind seeing some rain on Friday.

"She ran on the slop at Hawthorne last fall and handled it well (in a 7 ¼-length win)," Barnett said. "It would be OK for us."

Julien Leparoux, one of several riders hoping to pull off the first Oaks-Derby riding double since Jerry Bailey in 1993 with Dispute in the Oaks and Sea Hero in the Derby, has the assignment on Swift Temper. He will ride Sedgefield in the Derby.

TOUGH TIZ'S SIS - The bay daughter of Tiznow went through a 1½-mile bit of exercise Tuesday morning at Santa Anita, galloping under tack for exercise rider Sarah Cillie. The Bob Baffert trainee is scheduled next to be put aboard a 5 a.m. flight Wednesday morning at Ontario Airport for her flight to Louisville and her Friday date in the $500,000 Kentucky Oaks.

Baffert also will fly from Los Angeles Wednesday as he seeks his second score in the Grade I Oaks. He won the race with Silverbulletday in 1999.

Victor Espinoza has the call on Tough Tiz's Sis, winner of the Win Star Oaks in her most recent outing.

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