Country Star returns in Ashland

Multiple Grade 1 victress COUNTRY STAR (Empire Maker) will make her long-awaited 2008 bow on Saturday as part of a stellar seven-filly field in the $500,000 Ashland S. (G1) at Keeneland. The Bobby Frankel-trained lass dropped her initial start in late September at Belmont Park, but moved up in a big way to take the Alcibiades S. (G1) over Keeneland's Polytrack going the Ashland distance of 1 1/16 miles. She took a two-month break, then followed up with an easy score in the Hollywood Starlet S. (G1) on the other side of the country at Hollywood Park.
Robby Albarado will pick up the mount on Saturday.

PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen) has yet to break through at the Grade 1 level, but the Larry Jones trainee defeated champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) winner Indian Blessing (Indian Charlie) in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) last out. Runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), the bay three-year-old has never raced on a synthetic track, and will keep regular rider Gabriel Saez aboard in her Polytrack debut.

BSHARPSONATA (Pulpit) successfully transferred her stakes-winning turf form to the dirt, winning the Forward Gal S. (G2) and Davona Dale S. (G2) in her last two races. With those two, the Tim Salzman-trained bay will bring a four-race winning skein in the 71st running of the Ashland.

Another contender in the race will arrive a bit later than her rivals. ABSOLUTELY CINDY (Arch) took the Caressing H. over Churchill Downs' turf last fall, but was well-back of Indian Blessing and Proud Spell in the Silverbulletday S. (G3) two back. She returned to Polytrack last out, however, and defeated the boys with a dramatic late rally in the John Battaglia Memorial S. at Turfway Park, which is where she'll ship from the morning of the race.

"We are just going to wait and ship her down Saturday morning from here at Turfway Park," owner, breeder and trainer Keith Kinmon stated. "She's got a great mind and she ships real well. She has had three works since the Battaglia and she worked real well last Sunday, going five-eighths in 1:01 and galloping out in 1:13. She galloped out a little stronger than I liked, but we felt she might do that which is why we moved the work up a day so she would have an extra day to recover."

Absolutely Cindy, who owns a 2-0-2 line from five starts over Polytrack, will break from the rail under jockey Orlando Mojica. To their outside will be LITTLE BELLE (A.P. Indy), Rajiv Maragh; AFRICAN VIOLET (Lemon Drop Kid), Javier Castellano; Bsharpsonata, Eric Camacho; Proud Spell; Country Star; and LIFE IS SWEET (Storm Cat), Kent Desormeaux.

Each starter will carry 121 pounds.