Gabby's Golden Gal

It was easy to figure out where the winner of Friday’s 135th running of the Kentucky Oaks was … just follow the lilies.

The garland of lilies was draped over the wall in front of Stall 17 at Barn 30 where Rachel Alexandra was taking it easy after her jaw-dropping, 20 1/4-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks.

“She is good this morning,” trainer Hal Wiggins said. “She maybe left one or two bits of feed and this morning she was dragging the groom around the barn.”

Rachel Alexandra began her five-race win streak with a score in the Golden Rod (Grade II) here last fall. After that, Wiggins mapped out a plan to get to Friday’s Oaks.

“You make plans and it is very nice to see things work out perfect,” the 66-year-old Wiggins said. “She makes my job very easy. We still don’t know how good she is.”

For Wiggins, who saddled his first winner in 1977 and who has been a regular at Churchill Downs since 1993, Friday marked the highest of the highs.

“I have been in the game a long time. I had Chorwon (a three-time winner of the Louisville Handicap) and Morris Code (who earned more than $700,000) for Mr. (Dolphus) Morrison, but nothing like this at the top of the game,” Wiggins said. “Mr. Morrison bred and owned the dam (Lotta Kim). I have been with him for 30 years and that makes it special.”

Wiggins stayed at the barn until 8 last night and was back in his office early Saturday morning.

“We watched the race on the outside rail where I always watch and you miss a lot down there,” Wiggins said. “I had no idea how much she won by. We did start celebrating a little early.

“We went to the directors room after the press conference and they were showing the race over and over. Then they showed the aerial shot and that was tremendous.”

In all the euphoria of the victory, Wiggins was thinking about one filly that didn’t make the race: West Point Thoroughbreds’ Justwhistledixie.

“My heart goes out to the Justwhistledixie people,” Wiggins said of the filly who was scratched less than two hours before the race because of an abscess in her left front foot. “I really feel for them. They are a good group of guys. I hate it for anybody. Not to take anything away from the others, but she looked like the main competition. This was their big day.”

The $300,000 Acorn (Grade I) at Belmont on June 6 at a mile is the next objective on Wiggins’ radar for Rachel Alexandra.

“This gives her five weeks, which is what I like,” Wiggins said. “She had only three weeks before the Fantasy, but it looks like she is fine. She was dragging the groom around the barn after she worked in (a minute and):10 five or six days ago. Maybe she is the monster people have been talking about.

“We walked her two days after she worked and Rudy (exercise rider Rudy Gallegos) said ‘don’t walk her two days again.’ She was pulling him out of the saddle.”

STONE LEGACY / BE FAIR / TWEETER – Hall of Fame trainer and four-time Kentucky Oaks winner D. Wayne Lukas said all three of his Kentucky Oaks participants were well on the morning after Friday’s race.  Stone Legacy finished second, Be Fair fourth and Tweeter was last in the field of seven.

“They were all fine,” Lukas said.  “I don’t know where we’ll go with any of them, but they were fine.”

Earlier in the week Lukas had said the eventual Oaks winner could be the best 3-year-old filly in the United States since Eugene Klein’s Winning Colors, the Hall of Fame filly who provided Lukas with his first Kentucky Derby victory when she turned back colts in the 1988 “Run for the Roses.”

“That was something else,” Lukas said of Rachel Alexandra’s record 20 ¼-length win.  “The best line was that she ran in the 11th race, we ran in the 12th.”

FLYING SPUR – Trainer Bill Mott said Saturday morning that Flying Spur, who finished third in the Kentucky Oaks, was fine.

“She’s good,” Mott said. “She exited the race in very good order.”

Mott said that he does not know when the filly will race next.

According to Mott, Rachel Alexandra’s impressive 20 1/4-length victory will have an impact on the 3-year-old female division this season.

“I guess that at this point no fillies are going to run against her in the good races,” Mott said. “They’re all just going to go somewhere else.”

NAN – Wally Dollase, father of trainer Craig Dollase, said that J. Paul Reddam’s Nan came out of her fifth-place finish in the Friday’s Oaks in good order.

“She’s fine, she just got beat,” Dollase said. “I’ll call Craig tomorrow and see what he wants to do.”
  

GABBY’S GOLDEN GAL – The Sunland Oaks winner Gabby’s Golden Gal is fine after her sixth-place finish, trainer Bob Baffert said Saturday morning. Baffert said he did not have a plan for the next start for Gabby’s Golden Gal, who led the race for about the first mile.

Baffert was impressed with the way Rachel Alexandra dominated the Oaks.

“We saw greatness,” Baffert said. “You hate to get beat, but at least we can say we were the last filly who was in front of Rachel Alexandra turning for home. I wish he (Calvin Borel) could have waited a little bit longer and maybe I could have run second or third."

L and M Partners' brilliant Rachel Alexandra, who closed 2008 with a dominating victory in the Golden Rod (Grade II) beneath the Twin Spires of Churchill Downs, will put a four-race win streak on the line Friday when she faces seven rivals in the 135th running of the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks (Grade I) at the legendary Louisville track.

The Oaks, America’s top race for 3-year-old fillies, will go as the 11th race on Friday with a 5:45 p.m. (all times EDT) post time. The 12-race Oaks Day card has a first post time of 10:30 a.m.

Rachel Alexandra drew post position six for the Oaks and Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has installed Rachel Alexandra as the 3-5 odds-on favorite for the 1 1/8 mile Oaks.  The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro is trained by Hal Wiggins and scheduled to be ridden by Calvin Borel.  Each of her connections is seeking their first victory in the Kentucky Oaks.

Following last fall’s Golden Rod victory, Rachel Alexandra reeled off impressive victories in her 3-year-old campaign in the Martha Washington on Feb. 15 at Oaklawn Park, the Fair Grounds Oaks (Grade II) on March 14 at Fair Grounds and the Grade II Fantasy on April 5 at Oaklawn Park.  She has a career record of 6-2-0 in nine races and has earned $621,440.

The second choice on the morning line at 5-2 is West Point Thoroughbreds, Lakland Farm and R. Dee Hubbard’s Justwhistledixie. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, the daughter of Dixie Union brings a five-race winning streak into her first meeting with Rachel Alexandra.  Her two most recent scores came in the Davona Dale (Grade II) and Bonnie Miss (Grade II) at Gulfstream Park.

Julien Leparoux, who rode Justwhistledixie to the Bonnie Miss victory, has the mount Friday and will break from post position five.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who had sent out four Kentucky Oaks winners, will be represented by a trio of runners in the 135th  renewal of the race:  Lukas will saddle Westrock Stables’ Be Fair and the Marylou Whitney Stables’ duo of Stone Legacy and Tweeter in Friday’s race.

Lukas’ Oaks winners are Blush With Pride (1982), Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984), Open Mind (1989) and Seaside Attraction (1990).   Lukas will be one of three Oaks trainers trying to accomplish a sweep of the Oaks and Saturday’s $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI).  That Oaks-Derby sweep was last achieved in 1952 when Calumet Farm’s legendary trainer Ben Jones sent out Real Delight to win the Oaks and followed with a Derby win by Hill Gail.

Lukas will send out Flying Private in the Derby on Saturday.

Bob Baffert, who will enter racing’s Hall of Fame this year with his 1999 Kentucky Oaks winner Silverbulletday, will saddle Arnold Zetcher’s Gabby’s Golden Gal in Friday’s Oaks with Victor Espinoza to ride.  Baffert’s Kentucky Derby hopeful is Pioneerof the Nile.

Bill Mott, another member of racing’s Hall of Fame and the all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs, will saddle Mike Rutherford’s Flying Spur in the Oaks. Flying Spur’s best career effort was a runner-up finish to Rachel Alexandra in the Fair Grounds Oaks.  Garrett Gomez, who won the 2007 Oaks on Rags To Riches, has the mount.

The field for the 135th running of the Kentucky Oaks, from the rail out, is as follows: Tweeter (Miguel Mena), Be Fair (Rafael Bejarano), Stone Legacy (Kent Desormeaux), Gabby’s Golden Gal (Victor Espinoza), Justwhistledixie (Julien Leparoux), Rachel Alexandra (Calvin Borel), Nan (Corey Nakatani) and Flying Spur (Garrett Gomez). All starters will carry 121 pounds.

Follow the preparations of your favorite Kentucky Oaks contender every morning with the Churchill Downs Notes Team, providing daily updates on the contenders for Kentucky Oaks 135!

BE FAIR / TWEETER – Thomas Van Meter and Charles Kidder’s Be Fair worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 under exercise rider Omar Golon. The move, taking place shortly after the track opened, was the fourth-fastest of 24 at the distance over a track rated as “fast.”

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a four-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks, said, “She went just perfect.”  Lukas added, “Have you ever heard a trainer not like a horse’s work?”

Marylou Whitney Stables’ Tweeter galloped shortly after the track opened at 6 a.m.  Lukas is still not definite on her final work plans, but has indicated it would come Monday or Tuesday.

FLYING SPUR – Mike Rutherford’s Flying Spur galloped a mile and quarter under exercise rider Joanna Trout before the renovation break Sunday morning.

Trainer Bill Mott indicated Flying Spur, runner-up in the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks to Rachel Alexandra, would work Monday morning, probably before the renovation break.

Garrett Gomez, winner of the 2007 Kentucky Oaks on Rags To Riches, has the riding assignment on Flying Spur.

GABBY’S GOLDEN GAL – The lightly raced (four starts) winner of the Sunland Park Oaks, Gabby’s Golden Gal, had her final major move for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs Sunday morning when she clipped off five furlongs in 1:00.40 shortly after the renovation break.

With trainer Bob Baffert taking it in from the track’s grandstand, the smallish daughter of Medaglia d’Oro had former rider Joe Steiner in the tack as she went generously through the drill.

The thoughtful Steiner gave the move a literal and figurative thumbs up.

“She just cruised around there for me,” he said. “And she galloped out strong. I said ‘OK, that’s good,’ when we finished up. She’s just a little thing, but she feels big under you. She’s coming up to it right; doing all she can do. She’ll be hooking into a tough one (solid favorite Rachel Alexandra), but she’s going to be ready to do her part. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being ready and getting lucky.”

Victor Espinoza has the call on Gabby’s Golden Gal for the nine-furlong Oaks.

JUSTWHISTLEDIXIE – West Point Thoroughbreds’ Justwhistledixie walked the shedrow at Barn 42 for a second consecutive morning. The Kiaran McLaughlin trainee worked a half-mile in :49 on Friday and is scheduled to go back to the track in the morning.

Julien Leparoux, who rode Justwhistledixie to victory in the Grade II Bonnie Miss on March 27 in her most recent start, has the Oaks riding assignment.

NAN – J. Paul Reddam’s Nan returned to the track for a light jog under exercise rider Jose Castanon after walking the shedrow on Saturday.

The Craig Dollase trainee had her final pre-Oaks work on Friday with a five-furlong drill in company in 1:00.20.

Corey Nakatani, a two-time Kentucky Oaks winner, has the riding assignment on Nan.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA – L and M Partners’ Rachel Alexandra galloped a mile and half before the renovation break under exercise rider Rudy Gallegos.

The probable Kentucky Oaks favorite is scheduled to work a half-mile after the renovation break in the morning with jockey Calvin Borel up.

“I am looking for her to go in about :48 and maybe let her gallop out,” trainer Hal Wiggins said.

Wiggins, whose horses occupy most all of Barn 30, will have plenty to keep him busy this week along with Rachel Alexandra. “I’ve got one in on Tuesday, I’m entering one for Thursday and we’re running Abbott Hall in the Edgewood on Friday,” Wiggins said.

Abbott Hall is owned by Dolphus Morrison, breeder and co-owner of Rachel Alexandra.

Follow your favorite contender for the 135th running of the Kentucky Oaks with the Churchill Downs Notes Team!

BE FAIR / TWEETER – Thomas Van Meter and Charles Kidder's Be Fair galloped an unspecified distance Saturday morning at Churchill Downs according to trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Lukas said the filly will work “possibly tomorrow” in her final major move leading up to Oaks 135.

Marylou Whitney Stables' Tweeter also galloped Saturday morning and Lukas said Tweeter will work Monday or Tuesday for a possible Oaks run.

Rafael Bejarano has the Oaks riding assignment on Be Fair, who was fourth in the Grade I Ashland at Keeneland on April 4 in her most recent start.

FLYING SPUR – Mike Rutherford’s Flying Spur galloped a mile and a quarter under Joanna Trout before the renovation break Saturday morning.

Trainer Bill Mott expressed satisfaction with the morning’s activity that occurred the same time Mott was on the track with Kentucky Derby contender Hold Me Back.

Garrett Gomez has the riding assignment on Flying Spur, who is expected to work on Monday.

GABBY’S GOLDEN GAL – The heroine of the Sunland Park Oaks, Gabby’s Golden Gal, was out and doing some leg stretching at 6:45 Saturday morning, building up steam toward her date in Friday’s Grade I Kentucky Oaks.

Exercise rider George Alvarez was at the controls and took the Medaglia d’Oro filly through a mile and one-half gallop.

The Arnold Zetcher homebred is scheduled to have one more work prior to her date on the national stage. When would that work takes place, her silver-haired conditioner was asked?

“Sunday,” said Bob Baffert. “Looks like we’ll work her on Sunday.”

JUSTWHISTLEDIXIE – West Point Thoroughbreds’ Justwhistledixie walked the shedrow at Barn 42 a day after working a half-mile in :49.

“Everything looks good this morning,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. “She ate up good and probably will walk again in the morning.”

Julien Leparoux has the Oaks riding assignment on Justwhistledixie, who has won five consecutive races.

NAN – J. Paul Reddam's Nan walked the shedrow after putting in a five-furlong work Friday morning in 1:00:20.

Aimee Dollase, sister and assistant to trainer Craig Dollase, said “she came out of the work great and is looking great.”

Corey Nakatani has the Oaks riding assignment.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA – L and M Partner’s Rachel Alexandra galloped a mile and a half under exercise rider Rudy Gallegos shortly before 7 o’clock Saturday morning.

“I have been getting on her since last May and she just keeps getting better and better and stronger,” Gallegos said.

Trainer Hal Wiggins, along with his wife, Renee, and his mother, Joyce, watched the morning activity.
“I had a clocker at Oaklawn Park tell me he watches her every day and it is the same every day,” Wiggins said of the strong gallops put in by Rachel Alexandra.

Wiggins, a trainer for more than 30 years, plans to work Rachel Alexandra a half-mile on Monday morning after the renovation break with jockey Calvin Borel up.

No paddock or gate schooling is planned for Rachel Alexandra.

“Her disposition is so good, she won’t do either,” Wiggins said.

BE FAIR – Thomas Van Meter and Charles Kidder’s Be Fair breezed five-eighths of a mile in a move that trainer D. Wayne Lukas described as “fantastic” on Monday morning over a track rated as “sloppy” with exercise rider Omar Golon up.
“She was flying through the lane,” Lukas said. “I got her in :23 in the lane.”

GABBY’S GOLDEN GIRL – Arnold Zetcher LLC’s Gabby’s Golden Girl worked five furlongs in 1:02 with former rider Joe Steiner board for the move after the renovation break over a sloppy track.
    “I got her in 1:27-and-four for the seven-eighths,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “I worked her seven, but started at the five-eighths pole. She started off a little slow, but picked it up strong. She did not get tired and that was a tiring track this morning.”
   
NAN – J. Paul Reddam’s Nan jogged a mile after the renovation break with exercise rider Jose Castanon up.

RACHEL ALEXANDRA – L and M Partner’s Rachel Alexandra, the likely favorite for Kentucky Oaks 135, had the morning off as scheduled and walked the shedrow according to Brent McClellan, assistant to trainer Hal Wiggins.

KENTUCKY OAKS 135 ARRIVAL SCHEDULE – Two potential Kentucky Oaks starters are scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Wednesday afternoon. The West Point Thoroughbreds’ duo of Justwhistledixie and Fitz Just Right, currently stabled at Keeneland, are expected to train at the Lexington track that morning and ship over to Louisville in the afternoon.
    Another Oaks hopeful at Keeneland, Mike Rutherford’s Flying Spur, will ship into trainer Bill Mott’s Barn 19 upon arrival at Churchill Downs.