Red-hot Miss Kentucky eyes third straight victory in Roxelana Stakes

Preston Madden’s Winning Colors (Grade III) victor Miss Kentucky is the 5-2 second choice on the morning line for Saturday’s $75,000-added Roxelana Overnight Stakes as the 4-year-old filly attempts three straight wins for trainer Rusty Arnold II.

“She’s been in great form this year,” Arnold’s Churchill Downs-based assistant Jack Bohannan said. “I think it’s the right spot for her and she’s been training well into the race. The post should work perfectly for her. In her last race she sat just off the early pace but she has some tactical speed. Breaking from the far outside Brian (Hernandez Jr.) should be able to see what the horses are doing to her inside and make a decision where to put her in the race.”

The six-furlong Roxelana, named for the crack female sprinter who won seven of 11 starts and earned $264,726 between 2000-03 for trainer William “Blackie” Huffman, is carded as Race 10 of 11 on Saturday’s program with a scheduled post time of 5:26 p.m. (all times Eastern). The first race Saturday is 12:45 p.m.

Miss Kentucky won the $100,000 Winning Colors at Churchill Downs on May 26 by three-quarters of a length while battling on the lead for most of the race to hold off a late charge from Treble. The daughter of Blame has been consistent in her four-race 2018 campaign with three victories and only one defeat – a sixth-place finish in an allowance race at Keeneland.

Kirk and Judy Robinson’s multiple graded stakes winner Vertical Oak was made the 2-1 morning line favorite by Churchill Downs veteran odds maker Mike Battaglia. The daughter of Giant Oak, trained by Steve Asmussen is scheduled to make her third start of the year following a 1 ½-length win in the May 18 Skipat Stakes at Pimlico.

The field for the Roxelana from the rail out: Mythical Tale (ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, trained by Brad Cox, 122 pounds, 5-1 morning line odds); Golden Domer (Corey Lanerie, Brendan Walsh, 122, 8-1); Vertical Oak (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 122, 2-1); Julerette (Julien Leparoux, Ben Colebrook, 122, 15-1); Annathela (Jack Gilligan, Arnold, 122, 12-1); Astrollinthepark (Florent Geroux, Larry Jones, 122, 3-1); Miss Kentucky (Hernandez, Arnold, 124, 5-2).