Kentucky Oaks: 3 hopefuls work Sunday at Churchill Downs

Three hopefuls for Friday's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks put in works over a fast main track at Churchill Downs on Sunday.

Working toward the Kentucky Oaks shortly after the track opened for training was Our Pretty Woman. Listed as the first also-eligible for the $1.5 million race, Our Pretty Woman worked a half-mile in 50.6 seconds. Working during the 7:30-7:45 a.m. EDT window were Just F Y I, who went four furlongs in 49.4 seconds, and Everland, who went four furlongs in 51.6.

Here are updates on each of the Kentucky Oaks hopefuls.

Everland. Everland, winner of the Bourbonette Oaks in her most recent start for trainer Eric Foster, worked a half-mile in 51.8 seconds Sunday after shipping over from Keeneland the day before.

Everland drew the no. 9 post and was listed on the morning line as a 30-1 shot with Abel Cedillo to ride. Cedillo was aboard Sunday.

“I thought she looked really good,” trainer Eric Foster said. “He (Cedillo) was smiling. I was tickled with her.”

Foster admitted “we’ve got a lot of unanswered here” heading into the Oaks, such as how she’ll handle the crowd and the switch from an artificial racing surface to the dirt.

“We’re hoping her breeding will make the difference,” he said of the daughter of Arrogate. “There was an Arrogate that won at a mile-and-a-quarter last night, and we like Arrogates. We’re hoping he shines through on her.”

Fiona's Magic. Fiona’s Magic made her first visit to the track Sunday morning since arriving from South Florida, galloping a mile and a quarter under exercise rider Alejandro Mariano for trainer Michael Yates.

Winner of the Davona Dale (G2) to punch her ticket to the Kentucky Oaks, Fiona’s Magic will exit post 7 under Luis Saez in Friday’s race.

Fiona’s Magic gives Yates an Oaks starter for the second consecutive year. Last year, Dorth Vader was prominent throughout before tiring late to finish fifth, beaten by only 3 1/4 lengths by Pretty Mischievous.

Yates said he would give Fiona’s Magic gate and paddock schooling sessions this week prior to the Oaks.

Gin Gin, Tarifa. Calumet Farm’s Gin Gin along with Godolphin’s Tarifa both had an easy training session Sunday morning for trainer Brad Cox.

“Both fillies are doing well out of their works from Friday,” Cox said. “We’ll gallop them this week and probably school in the paddock again.”

Into Champagne. Into Champagne was out just before 6 a.m. for trainer Ian Wilkes. Exercise rider Adelso Orantes was aboard.

“She galloped about a mile-and-three-eighths today,” Wilkes said of his filly, who drew the no. 10 post with jockey Julian Leparoux.

The draw suits Into Champagne, listed at 30-1 on the morning line, Wilkes said. “No problem there. The post is fine … it’s better than the 1 or 2, and it gives us a few options.”

The Gulfstream Parks Oaks (G2) third-place finisher completed a five-furlong breeze Friday morning in 1:00, with Leparoux.

Just F Y I. Jockey Junior Alvarado’s face visibly beams when discussing Just F Y I, the champion filly he has guided through each of her four career starts. The positive adjectives and broad smiles continued to flow from the rider Sunday shortly after he climbed off his Oaks contender following an easy half-mile breeze in 49.4 seconds.

In registering her third workout in 10 days, the filly continued to flaunt good energy as she broke off solo during the 7:30 a.m. training period with trainer Bill Mott looking on from his pony. Alvarado was a passenger through splits of 24.8 seconds with a gallop-out in 1:02.4.

“It was a great work, it was nice and comfortable,” said Alvarado, who will also ride Resilience for Mott in the Kentucky Derby. “Today was more like a maintenance work to make sure she felt good. She traveled very well, nice and comfortable and galloped out with good energy.

“This track can go either way, sometimes horses don’t get a good hold of it. And she’s just been skipping over this ground,” Alvarado said. “She’s traveling as good as you want a horse to travel over this ground and that makes me happy because she’s a lengthy filly. I just love my chances. She’s handled the track and been galloping everyday with good energy, that’s all you can ask.”

In addition to her class, Just F Y I is indeed bringing fresh legs into the Kentucky Oaks as she has only made one start thus far in 2024. After her Eclipse Award-clinching victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last November, the daughter of Justify had her sophomore debut delayed by illness.

When she finally did return in the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 5, she finished second, three lengths behind race winner Leslie’s Rose, but got a jolt of fitness out of the effort.

“I think she’s a little more mature now and doing very well,” Mott said. “She seems like having the race at Keeneland under her belt, she’s begun to wake up. Over the winter, they kind of let down and they’re going through the motions in their training but sometimes it takes a race to really put them on edge and I think we accomplished that with her race in the Ashland. Hopefully it will move her forward.”

Mott added he might send Just F Y I back to the track Monday for a light jog.

Lemon Muffin. Honeybee Stakes (G3) winner Lemon Muffin had a walk day for trainer D. Wayne Lukas after working five furlongs in 58.2 seconds on Saturday.

Leslie's Rose, Candied. Trainer Todd Pletcher had his two Kentucky Oaks candidates trackside Sunday morning during the 7:30-7:45 training period for Oaks and Derby horses at Churchill Downs.

Exercise rider Joel Osorio was aboard Leslie’s Rose, and Carlos Quevedo handled Candied.

They both galloped roughly 1 1/4 miles then took turns standing in the starting gate. Pletcher indicated he’ll have both of them spend some time in the paddock both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Leslie’s Rose will be ridden in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks by regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. She drew the outside post 14 at Saturday’s draw. Candied is the second also-eligible and will need two withdrawals to make the field.

Power Squeeze. Power Squeeze visited the Churchill Downs track for a gallop Sunday after arriving late Thursday from South Florida.

Trainer Jorge Delgado was expected to arrive in Louisville Sunday to oversee the final preparation of the Union Rags filly for the Oaks.

Daniel Centeno has the riding assignment on Power Squeeze for the Oaks from post 12.

Regulatory Risk, Ways and Means. Regulatory Risk walked the shedrow one day after putting in a half-mile work, and her stablemate and fellow Kentucky Oaks contender Ways and Means returned to the track for a jog with trainer Chad Brown looking on.

Brown expressed concern that Ways and Means might have done too much when she worked four furlongs in a blistering in 46.2 seconds on Friday. But he has been encouraged since by the way the daughter of Practical Joke has bounced out of that effort.

“She looked great today. She looked good,” Brown said. “Tomorrow, we’ll give her a little gallop and see how it goes. She came out really sound and happy and normally those things you don’t quite know the next week until you run them or work them again. But so far, so good.”

Tapit Jenallie. Tapit Jenallie was on the track Sunday for trainer Eddie Milligan Jr. in preparation for the Oaks.

“I jogged her to the half-mile pole, then turned her around and galloped her back, so she basically went a mile galloping,” said Milligan.

Milligan sounded philosophical about drawing the no. 1 post position on Saturday. “The owner asked me before the draw what post I wanted,” he said. “I told him it really didn’t matter because where we ended up, because it’s where God wanted us. We’ll how this comes out. She was in the 1 hole at Oaklawn, and ran well. She was in the 2 hole at Delta Downs and won. She is an impatient filly, so I don’t like her to stand around while the others load.”

The Oaks’ 30-1 shot worked a half-mile Thursday with jockey Manny Esquivel, in 49.4 seconds.

Thorpedo Anna. Thorpedo Anna returned to the track Sunday with exercise rider Martin Reyes, two days after she completed her final major workout for the Oaks for trainer Kenny McPeek.

“She jogged a mile and galloped a mile,” McPeek said. “That’s typical for the first day back for us.”

Thorpedo Anna, who will have Brian Hernandez Jr. on board, drew the no. 5 post for the Oaks and was near the top of the morning line at 5-1. On Friday, Hernandez guided her to a five-furlong work in :59.40.

Where's My Ring. Where’s My Ring galloped a solid two miles under exercise rider David Rodriguez during the 7:30-7:45 special Derby-Oaks training session.

Trainer Val Brinkerhoff, who has guided the daughter of Twirling Candy through an eight-race career so far that peaked on April 6 at Aqueduct when she both broke her maiden and scored her first stakes victory in the Gazelle (G3), watched his charge go through her exercise from the backside clockers’ stand. He seemed quite pleased with her leg stretching.

Veteran New York rider Jose Lezcano rode Where’s My Ring in her stakes tally and has signed on to take the controls when she goes in the Oaks Friday. They’ll begin from post 3 in the 14-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile test.