kentucky oaks | Horse Racing Free Tips

Swiss Skydiver Entered In Blue Grass; McPeek Trainee Only Second Filly To Contest Keeneland’s Biggest Derby Prep

Multiple graded stakes winner Swiss Skydiver is scheduled to become the second filly to run in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes since it debuted at Keeneland during the track's inaugural Spring Meet in April 1937.

The 3-year-old daughter of Daredevil drew post seven of 13 entrants in Saturday's contest, which offers the winner 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver already tops the points standings for the Kentucky Oaks, with wins in the Gulfstream Oaks, Fantasy Stakes, and Santa Anita Oaks on her resume.

The Blue Grass will be the filly's first start against males, and she'll again be partnered by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.

The first filly to run in the Blue Grass was Hyman Friedberg's homebred Harriet Sue, who in 1944 won the Ashland and next was fifth to Skytracer in the Blue Grass. That year, Keeneland's Spring Meet was held at Churchill Downs. In 1948, future Hall of Famer Bewitch was scratched from the Blue Grass.

This year's Blue Grass field is as follows:

Post	Horse	Trainer	Jockey
1	Shivaree	Ralph Nicks	John Velazquez
2	Finnick the Fierce	Rey Hernandez	Jose Ortiz
3	Art Collector	Tom Drury Jr.	Brian Hernandez Jr.
4	Mr. Big News	Bret Calhoun	Mitchell Murrill
5	Man in the Can	Ron Moquett	Tyler Gaffalione
6	Hard Lighting	Alexis Delgado	Rafael Bejarano
7	Swiss Skydiver	Kenny McPeek	Mike Smith
8	Basin	Steve Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.
9	Attachment Rate	Dale Romans	Luis Saez
10	Rushie	Michael McCarthy	Javier Castellano
11	Hunt the Front	Nick Zito	Corey Lanerie
12	Enforceable	Mark Casse	Joel Rosario
13	Tiesto	Bill Mott	Flavien Prat

The post Swiss Skydiver Entered In Blue Grass; McPeek Trainee Only Second Filly To Contest Keeneland’s Biggest Derby Prep appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Shedaresthedevil Indiana Oaks Headliner

Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), heroine of Oaklawn’s GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 7, is the clear-cut horse to beat in Wednesday evening’s GIII Indiana Oaks.

The bay followed a well-beaten third behind division heavyweights Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Venetian Harbor (Munnings) in the GIII Fantasy S. May 1 with a powerful optional claiming tally at Churchill Downs last time June 5.

“She ran a huge one,” trainer Brad Cox said. “We were looking just to get a race in her between the Fantasy and wherever we ended up, which ended up being the Indiana Oaks. She worked well all winter when we picked her up, and she’s just continued to improve all winter, all spring and into the summer. If she shows up, she’ll be tough.”

Bayerness (Bayern), two-for-two during her juvenile season, enters this first two-turn test following a well-beaten third in the seven-furlong GIII Dogwood S. June 6.

Alandra (Blame), third after trouble at the start in last term’s GI Darley Alcibiades S., ships in for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey off a facile allowance win in the Belmont mud June 11.

The Indiana Oaks carries 20-8-4-2 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks.

The post Shedaresthedevil Indiana Oaks Headliner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Grade 1 Winner Wicked Whisper Seeking Oaks Points In Keeneland’s Beaumont

JoAnn and Alex Lieblong's Wicked Whisper, winner of last fall's Frizette (G1) at Belmont Park, will make her 2020 debut Friday when she headlines a field of six 3-year-old fillies in the 35th running of the $100,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select.

The race, to be run over the Beard Course of 7 furlongs, 184 feet, offers 34 points on the Road to the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a 20-8-4-2 scale to the top four finishers. The Beaumont Presented by Keeneland Select will go as the seventh race on Friday's nine-race program with a 4:24 p.m. post time.

Trained by Steve Asmussen and to be ridden by Joel Rosario, Wicked Whisper has not raced since finishing fifth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita. She will break from post position four.

Looming as one of the main threats to Wicked Whisper is Whitham Thoroughbreds' Four Graces. Winner of the Dogwood (G3) last month at Churchill Downs, Four Graces has won three of four career starts for trainer Ian Wilkes. Julien Leparoux has the mount Friday and will exit post position three.

Invading from California is Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables' Speech. Trained by Michael McCarthy, Speech finished second in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) and prior to that was beaten a neck in an allowance test at Oaklawn Park by runaway Acorn (G1) winner Gamine. Javier Castellano has the mount on Speech and will break from post two.

The field for the Beaumont Presented by Keeneland Select, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Slam Dunk (Luis Saez, 118 pounds), Speech (Castellano, 118), Four Graces (Leparoux, 118), Wicked Whisper (Rosario, 123), Sconsin (James Graham, 118), Turtle Trax (Brian Hernandez Jr., 118).

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Piece Of My Heart Aims For Kentucky Oaks Points In Delaware Oaks

Wolfe Racing and Hugh Robertson's Piece of My Heart tops a field of eight in the $300,000 Grade III Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park this Saturday. The Oaks has been carded as the eighth race with an approximate post time of 4:45 p.m.

For the first time, the mile a sixteenth affair will be a points race for the Grade I Kentucky Oaks which was rescheduled to September 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delaware Oaks will be worth 50 points to the winner, 20 points for second, 10 points for third and five for fourth.

Piece of My Heart has won her last two at Oaklawn Park. In her most recent, the Florida-bred trained by McLean Robertson posted a 1 ½-length score in the mile and a sixteenth $80,000 Gardenia Stakes on May 1. Previously, the daughter of Flat Out notched a 1-length triumpn in a one mile allowance on April 10. She has a career record of three wins, two seconds and a third from eight starts with earnings of $135,750.

She has had four workouts at Delaware Park with her most recent on June 30 when she breezed five furlongs over a fast main track in 1:00.

“She is doing real good,” said trainer McLean Robertson. “It looks like she gets over the Delaware Park surface really well. Hopefully, she will run the same as last time. It took her a little while for her, but she got awful good at Oaklawn and she is doing really good here, so we are looking forward to Saturday.”

WinStar Farm, Lindy Farms, and Madaket Stables' Comical will be seeking redemption as she finished second to Piece of My Heart in the Gardenia Stakes in her last race. Previously, the Kentucky-bred trained by Steven Asmussen second in a mile and a sixteenth allowance at Oaklawn Park on March 28. In her only other outing this year, she finished fourth in mile and forty yards $150,000 Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on February 8. Last year, she posted a record of two wins, a second and a third from nine starts including a win the Grade III Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga and a second in the Grade I Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita. She has a record of two wins, three seconds and a third from nine starts with earnings of $271,251.

$300,000 Grade III Delaware Oaks

For 3-year-old fillies

at a mile and a sixteenth

#	HORSE	OWNER	TRAINER	JOCKEY	Wg	ODD
1	Comical	WinStar, Lindy Farms, Mad	Steven Asmussen	Alex Cintron	116	5/2
2	Piece of My Heart	Wolfe Racing & Robertson	McLean Robertson	Joe Talamo	118	2-1
3	Princess Cadey	Magic Stable	Claudio Gonzalez	Angel Cruz	120	10-1
4	Long Point Beach	Five Hellions Farm	Lacey Gaudet	Feargal Lynch	116	15-1
5	Hopeful Growth	St. Elias Stable	Anthony Margotta Jr	Trevor McCarthy	116	10-1
6	Project Whiskey	Cash Is King LC Racing	Robert Reid	Frankie Pennington	116	12-1
7	Dream Marie	Miracle's International	Matthew Williams	Joe Bravo	116	7/2
8	Queen Bridget	Mary Ann Gould	John Alexander Ortiz	Tyler Baze	116	12-1

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