Calhoun readies unbeaten filly for the Kentucky Oaks trail

Off to a 2-for-2 start to her career, Ain’t No Elmers is a logical sort of 3-year-old to test stakes company next time out.

The only problem for connections?

“With the shortage of races and opportunities, everyone’s pointing toward the same race,” said trainer Bret Calhoun, who has the Goldencents filly targeting Oaklawn Park’s May 1 Fantasy Stakes (G3) — assuming she’ll make the body of the field with $57,600 in earnings.

A John Kerber homebred, Ain’t No Elmers drew away by 6 1/2 lengths in her Feb. 15 debut going six furlongs. At the same distance on March 18, this time facing fellow winners, she made it look even easier, racing wide and circling the competition for a nine-length victory.

“She hasn’t done much wrong in her career,” Calhoun said. “She’s only been around one turn, but we’re very, very high on her — very optimistic about her.”

Since her most recent win, Ain’t No Elmers hasn’t recorded a time breeze but has trained around two turns in hopes of giving off a signal she’d be ready for the Fantasy’s 1 1/16 miles.

“In the mornings, she’s looked very good,” Calhoun said. “Now obviously, a race is different. But we feel pretty good about her on the stretch out.”

Out of the Arch mare Voussoir, Ain’t No Elmers went through the sales ring as a yearling, but a $37,000 bid didn’t meet her reserve. She’s campaigned by John E. Kerber, Iveta Kerber and Jon Lapczenski.

The Fantasy is the lone Kentucky Oaks prep on the current schedule, awarding qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10-point basis to its top four finishers. Churchill Downs is expected to add more qualifiers ahead of the Sept. 4 Oaks once racing calendars come into focus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Fantasy, Ain't No Elmers figures to meet reigning champion filly British Idiom and the recent Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) heroine Swiss Skydiver, among others.