Tag: kentucky oaks undercard

Pauline’s Pearl Prevails in La Troienne

Well-bred Pauline's Pearl, eighth in last year's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, reached the highest level Friday while running down 2020 Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil. Off as the second choice having last finished runner-up in Oaklawn's Mar. 12 GII Azeri S.–one spot ahead of Shedaresthedevil and behind 2021 champion female sprinter Ce Ce (Elusive Quality)–the grey was briefly hung wide into the first turn before working her way inward slightly in midpack as Shedaresthedevil showed the way. She mounted a three-wide challenge after six furlongs in 1:11.78, and continued to grind away at the leader's advantage as longshot Ava's Grace boxed on in between. Pauline's Pearl seemed to hit another gear past the eighth pole, and Shedaresthedevil could no longer hold her off, with the former notching a snug decision.

“[Trainer Steve Asmussen] told me to watch her at the gate; that she could break slow. But she came out fine and I got a good position,” said winning pilot Joel Rosario. “I got pushed out a bit on the turn [for home], but once we straightened out she leveled off. She ran well through the stretch.”

A winner of last April's GIII Honeybee S. over Ava's Grace, Pauline's Pearl was freshened after the Oaks ahead of a third in the GIII Iowa Oaks and seconds in both the GIII Charles Town Oaks and GIII Remington Park Oaks. She finished off her sophomore season with a score in the Nov. 21 Zia Park Oaks–good for a career top Beyer Speed Figure of 96–and resurfaced a convincing winner of the GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. Jan. 20 before returning to Hot Springs for the Azeri.

“So many things go into it,” said Hall of Famer Asmussen, who was winning his second La Troienne. “She was a nice filly early that continuously competed and got better. She came back a [better] 4-year-old. All four races this year have been tremendous. It is so satisfying for her to come back and get her first Grade I on Oaks Day. She did her best last year in the Oaks. You can see the improvement one year has made in her.”

This was the 100th graded stakes win for a horse bred by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet, whose recent products also include last year's Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat (Curlin).

Friday, Churchill Downs
LA TROIENNE S. PRESENTED BY SIGNIFY HEALTH-GI, $750,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:42.46, ft.
1–PAULINE'S PEARL, 123, f, 4, by Tapit
        1st Dam: Hot Dixie Chick (GISW, $343,252), by Dixie Union
        2nd Dam: Above Perfection, by In Excess (Ire)
        3rd Dam: Something Perfect, by Somethingfabulous
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $455,700. Lifetime Record: 13-5-4-2, $1,494,200. *1/2 to Union Jackson (Curlin), MSW & GSP, $273,874. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shedaresthedevil, 123, m, 5, by Daredevil
        1st Dam: Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats
        2nd Dam: Andria's Forest, by Forestry
        3rd Dam: Andriana B., by Far North
($100,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $20,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $280,000 2yo '19 KEENOV; $5,000,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV). O-Flurry Racing Stables LLC, Qatar Racing Limited and Whisper Hill Farm, LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $147,000.
3–Ava's Grace, 123, f, 4, by Laoban
        1st Dam: Cover Girl Elle, by Out of Place
        2nd Dam: Cover, by A.P. Indy
        3rd Dam: Gild, by Mr. Prospector
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Cypress Creek Equine; B-Southern Equine Stables, LLC (KY); T-Robertino Diodoro. $73,500.
Margins: HF, 2 3/4, 1. Odds: 1.90, 0.80, 12.70.
Also Ran: Battle Bling, She's All Wolfe, Jilted Bride, Temper Time.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:
Pauline's Pearl is the 29th Grade I winner for her super sire, who was also responsible for 2014 Asmussen-trained Oaks heroine Untapable. Broodmare sire Dixie Union has sired the dams of seven North American highest-level winners (and two more in South America), including 2018 La Troienne victress Salty (Quality Road).

Precocious dam Hot Dixie Chick–a half to 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister)–annexed the 2009 GI Spinaway S., but was third at 3-5 in the following year's GIII Eight Belles S. on this same card. Her current 3-year-old Marsalis (Curlin) garnered 'TDN Rising Star'-dom in March. Hot Dixie Chick aborted to Good Magic after her subsequent mating, but produced a Constitution colt last season. She was bred to both Tapit and Quality Road for 2022.

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No Pace, No Problem for Still Unbeaten Bleecker Street

Bleecker Street took her record to six-for-six with a victory in the GIII Modesty S., the first graded race on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard. The gray caboosed the field through leisurely early splits of :25.18 and :50.31. Ranging up some five wide turning for home, she charged through in between Fluffy Socks and Hendy Woods in the lane and burst clear to score. Her stablemate Fluffy Socks secured second over Hendy Woods.

“With both my horses far back with that pace, I was quite worried,” said winning trainer Chad Brown. “Down the backside, actually, Irad [Ortiz on Fluffy Socks] was able to extract himself off the fence and move up a couple of spots. And I saw Flavien [Prat] kind of zero right in behind Irad. So I figured, OK, if the closers are going to come, Bleecker Street is going to come and Fluffy Socks will be following right behind her. Then it'll come down to a 1-2 race. Bleecker Street ran amazingly well, and you have to remember, Fluffy Socks is back after three weeks' rest from a wide trip at Keeneland. These horses are pretty close, Bleecker Street had more rest, but an undefeated horse, six-for-six, she's hard to fault. So trip dependent, pace dependent, course dependent. So she's a remarkable talent. Without a doubt, it was her best race yet.”

A debut winner at Monmouth in August, Bleecker Street captured an allowance next out at the Meadowlands in October. Kicking off 2022 with an optional claimer score at Tampa Jan. 8, she captured both the Feb. 5 GIII Endeavour S. and Mar. 12 GII Hillsborough S. at that venue.

Pedigree Notes:
The winner is out of SP Lemon Liqueur, who in turn is a daughter of MSP Limoncella (Lemon Drop Kid). Bleecker Street is her second foal and she has since produced a juvenile filly named Red Lemonade (Always Dreaming) and a yearling filly by Flatter. Lemon Liqueur was bred back to Not This Time. This is the family of GISW Gabriel Charles (Street Hero) and GSW Power Gal (Jpn) (Empire Maker).

MODESTY S. PRESENTED BY TWINSPIRES-GIII, $250,000, Churchill Downs, 5-6, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8mT, 1:50.10, fm.
1–BLEECKER STREET, 120, f, 4, by Quality Road
   1st Dam: Lemon Liqueur (SP), by Exchange Rate
   2nd Dam: Limoncella, by Lemon Drop Kid
   3rd Dam: Trip Around Heaven, by Halo
($400,000 Ylg '19 FTSAUG). O-Peter Brant; B-Branch Equine, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $148,800. Lifetime Record: 6-6-0-0, $434,700. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Fluffy Socks, 120, f, 4, Slumber (GB)–Breakfast Time, by Kitten's Joy. O/B-Head Of Plains Partners (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $48,000.
3–Hendy Woods, 118, m, 5, Uncle Mo–Separate Forest, by Forestry. ($95,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP). O/B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. $24,000.
Margins: HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 1.00, 2.50, 7.80.
Also Ran: Lake Lucerne, She Can't Sing, Pass the Plate, Curly Ruth, Stand Tall, Mona Stella. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Can Fiya Stay Hot?

Rob Masiello's fleet-footed Fiya (Friesan Fire) looks to remain unbeaten on the grass while making his first start of the year in Churchill's GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. The dark bay broke his maiden third out on the Laurel lawn last June before earning a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for a sharp allowance tally in July for trainer Michael Merryman. He was subsequently offered in the Wanamaker's July Online Auction, and Masiello ponied up $400,000 to acquire him. Transferred to Tom Albertrani, Fiya picked up right where he left off, annexing a Belmont allowance in September followed by the Maryland Million Turf Sprint H. Oct. 24 and the Claiming Crown Canterbury S. at Gulfstream Dec. 5–he had run for a $25,000 tag first out. The versatile Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) won this race last September before returning to the dirt to annex Keeneland's GII Phoenix S. Sixth in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, he was most recently ninth in the GIII Mr. Prospector S. at Gulfstream. Trainer Peter Miller is always deadly with a turf sprinter, and will be represented here by Sombeyay (Into Mischief), who was second by a neck in Santa Anita's GIII San Simeon S. Mar. 13. That was just the second time the 5-year-old had gone short on the turf. He took last February's GIII Canadian Turf S. over a mile for previous owner Starlight Racing and trainer Todd Pletcher.

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Dayoutoftheoffice Back for Eight Belles

Blazing Meadows Farm and Siena Farm's Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) makes her belated seasonal debut in the GII Eight Belles S. on the GI Kentucky Oaks undercard Friday. A romping winner of the GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga last July, the dark bay added a two-length tally in the one-turn-mile GI Frizette S. at Belmont Oct. 10, but she settled for second when Frizette runner-up Vequist (Nyquist) turned the tables on her in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The Tim Hamm pupil recorded a couple breezes at Tampa in January, but there was a gap in her tab after that and she was eventually taken out of consideration for the Oaks. Dayoufotheoffice fired a sharp :58 flat bullet from the gate at Keeneland for this last Friday, however, and is expected to use this as a springboard for the GI Acorn S. June 5.

Bob Baffert seeks a third win in this event with the cutting back Kalypso (Brody's Cause), winner of the GII Santa Ynez S. going this seven-furlong trip at Santa Anita Jan. 3. She was second in the Feb. 6 GIII Las Virgenes S. and third in the Mar. 7 GIII Santa Ysabel S., both at odds-on.

Fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott also owns two prior victories in this race, which was previously the La Troienne, and has an intriguing two-pronged attack this time around. Juddmonte homebred Obligatory (Curlin) impressed when breaking her maiden going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Feb. 7, and was most recently fourth in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks–one spot behind 'TDN Rising Star' Souper Sensational (Curlin). Mott's other runner is Godolphin homebred Caramel Swirl (Union Rags), who had been on the board behind some tough foes in her first four outings before breaking through by 10 1/4 lengths at Keeneland Apr. 9, earning an 88 Beyer Speed Figure.

   'Rising Star' Slumber Party (Malibu Moon) was second in Keeneland's GIII Beaumont S. after an impressive unveiling at Gulfstream in January. Abrogate (Outwork) and Windmill (Street Sense) traded decisions in the Feb. 28 Dixie Belle S. and Apr. 3 Purple Martin S. at Oaklawn.

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