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Gee Whiz, Look at Us, Guys

posted by Mac McBride on March 17, 2008 Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Country Star Wins the Hollywood Starlet (Photo by: Benoit)Country Star Wins the Hollywood Starlet (Photo by: Benoit)

So what do we have to do to get these poor young ladies some attention? Stand up in the middle of the room and yell “Fire!” How about “Sex!” Or maybe “Hillary and Obama!”

We’re desperate, folks.

There you all are over at the Kentucky Derby blog typing up a storm. Opinions flying every which way. Facts dancing up, down and around. Attitudes, impressions, beliefs, knowledge, ignorance – you name it and you can find it over at kentuckyderby.com. But here at redheadedstepsister.com, aka kentuckyoaks.com, the silence is loud. So loud you can’t hear it. Or see it. Or read it.

All these wonderful young fillies – 126 of them threw their names into the Oaks hat – and nary a wolf whistle to be found. They shake, they bake, they shimmy and they strut and nobody seems to notice. Come on now. Let’s give the young ladies a hand. Make that two and let’s have them clapping together.

So we’re asking, don’t you remember a young lady – chestnut type – who was doing her best to get your attention last year? Even went out and worked real hard in the mornings with the boys. Went head and head with them and beat them more times than not, and all the other guys said was “Yeah, well, old buddy boy there obviously isn’t much work horse. Can’t be if he let a filly beat him.”

Rags to Riches was her name, as we recall. Think she was worth paying attention to?

Or how about young lassies with names like Ashado, Silverbulletday, Open Mind, Susan’s Girl. Oaks winners all. Filly champs, too.

Think they would have been fun to chit chat about? To fire out a few good zingers? To tweak a theory or two for and against? You bet.

Yet the desperation remains. Look -- on the Oaks list there --- a filly named Onebadkitty. Now if we can just get her to run and win the Oaks and El Gato Malo to run and win the Derby, we’ve got the greatest hunch Oaks-Derby Double of all time! And then if we could get them to the breeding shed afterwards we could have one of the great come-up-with-the-cute-name contests and.... Oh, oh, what’s that you say? El Gato Malo is, er, oh, yeah. The big equipment change. No little kitty cats for him. Sorry.

Like we said, folks, we’re desperate.

How about Country Star? She might prove to be just that yet. And Eight Belles? She might ring them all. And there’s Proud Spell, Golden Doc A and Awesome Chic ranging up on the outside. Any of them might set hearts aflame come May 2.

Certainly, we’ll concede it: that Garland of Lillies isn’t a Blanket or Roses. But, by gosh and by golly, you’ve got to know it ain’t chopped liver, either.

And tell it true, would you not love to be holding that ticket that said “Oaks winner to All” on the morning of May 3? Wouldn’t that make that big bowl of Derby burgoo taste extra special?

So come on fellas, take a gander. They’re lovely. They’re lively. They’re our Oakie-doke girls! Let’s give them a roar.

Join the Discussion

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scooter811

03/17/2008 7:32 pm

I'm loving the filies this year. I think they're showing better than the boys. Eight Belles is fantastic. Love her. Have always liked Proud Spell. They are running better times than the boys and if not, they are .03 seconds off like in the Honeybee and Rebel. Interesting that there is alot of talk about how srong Pure Clan closed and that she passed Eight Belles in the gallop out. Pure Clan was driving to the wire. Eight Belles was geared down and under wraps so I still believe Eight Belles is the more talented filly. She doesn't even look like she's putting much effort into her wins. Now what colt can you consistently say that about?

derbyme

03/17/2008 11:16 pm

scooter,

couldn't agree with you more about 8 belles. breathtaking. Pure clan is one fine filly, but Eight Belles looks like she's from another planet right now. That easy movement that just propels her with no effort reminds me of Bernardini's Jockey Club or Ghostzapper's Iselin. I don't know if she'll ever be near that good, but her effortless motion conjures those comparisons. She's an absolute freak right now. Ditto Zenyata in the older mare division.

Let's hope she gets to Santa Anita with Hysterical Lady, Ginger Punch, Rags to Riches, Dreamin of Anna, Spring Walz, Zenyata, Nashoba's Key, Country Star, Pure Clan, and Proud Spell.

mac

03/17/2008 11:48 pm

Good stuff, guys. Now you're talkin'.
Eight Belles and Proud Spell. Larry Jones might have to order extra cowboy hats for this trip to Kentucky.

scooter811

03/18/2008 8:47 am

That's what I thought too. When a horse is winning while making it look like a public workout you've got something special. Looking forward to seeing Country Star's first race back too. Last work I saw was at Hollywood, 5f in 59:00 so she's obviously working well. What do you think of California fillies doing well in the Oaks? I always question the difference in the surfaces out there and how it turns around and relates to racing on dirt.

mac

03/18/2008 12:39 pm

Country Star did work in :59 on 3/12. Thought Frankel might work her this morning, but not so. Probably tomorrow, or Thursday for sure. Her conditioner is up against it trying to get her ready for the Ashland off a light 2-y-o campaign and a sizeable layoff (last start Dec 15; Ashland April 7). But Frankel can get them ready with anyone and if he thinks she can fire, then some folks better be ducking. It would then be less than a month to the Kentucky Oaks (May 2), which is the stated goal ("Depending on how she runs in the Ashland." -- Robert Frankel).
A California filly who might be Oaks bound is Golden Doc A. She's already run 11 times and only seems to get better with racing. She worked this morning at Santa Anita and hung up a :46 1/5 bullet. She's trained by Barry Abrams, who does things in his own rhythm. He's had a lot of success lately riding the Canadian lassie Chantal Sutherland at Santa Anita and, with Golden Doc A's regular rider --- Rafael Bejarano --- out of action right now you don't suppose the filly might have a filly up next time they get to ramblin', now do you?
As to California surfaces, don't let them hang you up too much. Some folks are talking as if racing on synthetics is like racing on Mars. If you buy into that, you could wind up costing yourself money. True enough, a different track can have an effect on a horse, just as it might in the case of one horse shipping from, say, the dirt in New Orleans to the dirt in Florida. Think of it the same way. A good horse --- especially a really good horse -- will handle any kind of surface --- fast, wet, dirt, synthetic, turf. Pick out the truly good horses and expect them to be truly good wherever they run next time out.

lmoshier

03/18/2008 3:31 pm

Mac,

Thanks for getting the discussion going. Right now I find the fillies more interesting than the boys with some very solid performances by both established and emerging stars. The colts seem to be a little erratic right now to say the least, and even the ones that are firing (and...maybe with exception of Pyro) are turning in pretty ho-hum performances. I can't wait to see Country Star in action again, but have to say that Eight Belles is starting to look like the real deal. She looks to be a big filly who is now putting everything together, and made it look effortless the last time out.

Derbyme, on my earlier post you had said that you felt the silence on the Oaks site was due to Oaks already being conceded to Country Star. It seems to me to be setting up as a pretty good horse race!

Also...it may be on the trainer profiles on this site...but can anyone substantiate that Larry Jones stable consists of only 20 horses? And two of those are Proud Spell and Eight Belles? Seems like there could be a story there when you compare with an Asmussen and Pletcher mega-stables.

Lori

mac

03/18/2008 4:47 pm

Lori --
Thanks for coming on board.

Hear you on Eight Belles. She looks like she might be a serious star on the rise. But if you asked me to pick the horse to beat in the Kentucky Oaks right now, it would be Proud Spell. She looks like a real comer to me; I like her breeding and stalking style; and her trainer's no slouch either, as he showed the country last year.

Don't know how anyone can think the Oaks is Country Star's for the having. She's got a long way to go yet. She only has three starts, hasn't raced in more than three months and won't run for at least another three weeks. During her recent "down" time she had to fight off a sickness and right now she's only got three works toward her comeback. She's probably going to need a new jockey, too. True, she's a very well bred filly with a sparkling record who is in the very best of hands. But she's being given a tall order. Very tall. And if she wins the Kentucky Oaks off her apparently single start in the Ashland, we may be seeing a very quick second coming of Rags to Riches and they may have to install an elevator in the Hall of Fame to take Mr. Frankel to the very top.

As far as how many hides the Jones Boy chases around, we'll have to ask one of our compadres back in his neck of the woods -- say a John Asher or Jill Byrne -- to get you a head count there.

derbyme

03/18/2008 5:28 pm

Mr. Walker,

Point taken on Pure Clan in the other blog. I actually made the same Sis City comparison in Justin's Oaks blog. I swallowed hook line and sinker on her as well. On the other hand, Sis City was not an easy horse to ride and always wanted to go. Maybe closer to War Pass? I respect Eight Belles so much because I respect Pure Clan so much. I thought Pure Clan ran a phenomenal race of the break and do expect her to move way up. If she moves up enough to get to the winner, she belongs on top.

To me, there's visually impressive, and then there's special. Street Sense's Juvenile was special. Rags To Riches 6 wide Santa Anita Oaks was special (I bet Jump on In who had the trip just to the champ's inside and faded to last). Ghostzapper's Met Mile, Afleet Alex's Preakness and Belmont. Bernardini or Borrego's Jockey Club. Every race Zenyata or Big Brown has ever run. I put Eight Belles last few in the special category. Maybe I'll be wrong. Maybe there's several special ones.

Also, visually impressive horses can still be special, even without a "specical" hair raising performance. Smarty Jones, Silver Charm, Ashado, Lava Man rarely made it look easy but certainly knew how to win.

I've hitched my wagon, so I have to ride 8 Belles til she Sis City's or Bellamy Road's on me.

BTW, I would put Pure Clan, Proud Spell, Country Star, and Eight Belles right with any of the boys at this point. And ALL of them are bred to handle a route and have excelled around 2 turns. In fact each looks like they want more ground.

mac

03/18/2008 6:31 pm

Derbyme --

Good stuff! Good thought process, good ideas, good opinions.
I'm with you for almost all of it, but give me Proud Spell right now and I don't want any of them messin' around with the boys. They'll have their hooves full in their own backyard.

derbyme

03/18/2008 7:14 pm

mac

Can't disagree with you for loving Proud Spell. Can't disagree with Mr. Ashley for loving Pure Clan or any backers of Bsharp or Vaulcluse and the Country Star bandwagon, can't blame them either. I think Golden Doc will like dirt.

Randomly, any word on Frankle/Judamonte miler Thousand Words? Another one with a knock the wind out of you move.

FASTLANE

03/18/2008 7:26 pm

I LOVE COUNTRY STAR !!!!! However, if she doesn't sharpen up in time for the Oaks I think Jones is holding the exacta. I like Bsharp to get up in there too, but think Eight Belles has the best shot and could bring proud Spell in with her. With this year's colts, it's hard not to wish for one of these to run in the Derby. I'd play them in my Derby exotics without hesitation.

Lane

mac

03/18/2008 7:47 pm

Lane --
You're all around it, and I like your chances in the Oaks if you get that Exacta box going. Good luck.

Derbyme --
I think Golden Doc A will like the dirt, too. Think you might see her next in the Ashland, though.
As far as Thousand Words, the 4-y-o is a Brit-bred by Dansili (who is by Danehill, one of their super sires) our of a Storm Bird mare, so he's bred with green hooves. Frankel ran him on the synthetic in the San Pasqual in his U.S. debut Jan 12 and he wound up 4th. Then he ran him back in an allowance race on the lawn Feb 10 and he blew on by, registering a 104 Beyer. He managed to win one little Group III in his native land, but didn't make a whole lot of impact otherwise in 11 starts on the other side of the Atlantic. Still, he's been training steadily (worked this morning at Hollywood on their main (Cushion) track and went in 1:00 2/5. He's in the hands of the master, so when he brings him out next you'll know he's live.

zitarell

03/19/2008 10:56 am

mac,

Thanks for this posting, which caused me to go back and look at some of the recent prep races for these fillies.

There were a lot of visually-compelling performances (far more than I have seen from the boys this year), but the biggest eye-popper for me was Eight Belles in the Martha Washington on Feb. 17. The top of the stretch unfolded in a manner nearly identical to the 2005 Belmont ("and Afleet Alex just ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!").

Clearly the 2008 Martha Washington field is not the 2005 Belmont field, but wow, that filly turned on the after-burners. I'm a sucker for freaky performances like these, and I'm a fan of the cowboy, so I think I have found my Oaks crush!

Mike barker

03/19/2008 4:55 pm

Country Star 1:13.80 Breezing 3-19-08 shes gettin fit boys

Stacey-Jo

03/19/2008 8:42 pm

I've liked Bsharpsonata for a while now, and I couldn't wait until she was listed as a contender so that I could see the replays of all of her races. She looked great in her last four races, and I can't wait to see her in the Ashland. She's tops on my list.

I'm also very impressed with Eight Belles. I thought her 15-length allowance win was a fluke, but then she did the same thing in the Martha Washington. She looked great in the Honeybee, and you can actually see her turn on the power at the top of the stretch. Amazing.

My other favorite is Pure Clan. She looked pretty good in the Honeybee after being off since November. She's had two wins at Churchill Downs, so that might give her an edge in the Oaks.

I know there's a lot of racing to be had between now and the First Friday in May, but for now, that's my Oaks Trifecta (boxed, of course!)

scooter811

03/20/2008 9:19 am

quote \"Country Star 1:13.80 Breezing 3-19-08 shes gettin fit boys"

I would in no way overlook this one. She is working well and we know she can run.

Wishing I could trade my Bluegrass ticket for the Ashland at this point.

scooter811

03/20/2008 12:23 pm

How about Awsome Chic? It was her first race stretching out and she seemed to handle it pretty well. Anybody know what her speed figure was for the FL Oaks?

tracmonster

03/20/2008 2:14 pm

Mac....enjoy your commentary.........for my money...Proud Spell is the filly to beat....she lost twice to filly Juv. champ Indian Blessing then turned the tables on her and blew her away.....and ran faster than Pyro on the same surface....Country Star might be a good one and Frankel seems to get the best out of his horses but she really hasnt beat anyone yet...watcha think?

gordito19

03/23/2008 8:30 pm

scooter. Awesome chic made 92 beyer and 101 by equibase.she has the heart and the spirit of "The eagle".3 wins and 2 stake place both with less than a lenght.

scooter811

03/24/2008 12:38 pm

Got away from my reading this weekend, but did hear a phone interview with Larry Jones and Eight Belles has been nominated to the Arkansas Derby. Not saying that she is going there, but she is nominated. Pretty interesting.

gordito19

03/25/2008 2:06 pm

I really think we need another Martina navatilova or in other words another Rags to Richies and the name is Eight Belles