Kentucky Oakes Day: Stakes Undercard Selections

By Rick Francis —-

CHURCHILL DOWNS

Race 6) 1&1/16th Mile. Alysheba S. presented by Sentient Jet Grade II. Purse $400,000 FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD
Post Time: ( 1:26)/12:26/11:26/10:26
ADVANCED FORECAST: Sunny, High 70, Low 43.

6) Maxfield (Walsh/Ortiz, J.); sent off as the race favorite last out, the distance proved longer than he cared for in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap finishing third. Drawing a line thru that one as it also was his first start without lasix. Returning to his preferred route makes him a prohibitive fave once again.

2) Sonneman (Asmussen/Santana); Curlin colt is never out of the mix at this distance as his record of (6 1-4-0) indicates; Santana gets the call, a major plus.

4) Chess Chief (Stewart/Saez); exits a game head score in the G2 New Orleans Classic, his second win in his last three starts; Into Mischief 5-year-old is another route proven (10 3-2-1)

5) Roadster (Baffert/Ortiz, I.); lightly raced 5-year-old by Quality Road hasn’t seen the winners circle since his 2019 Santa Anita Derby victory. Exits a hard fought fourth in the NO Classic where he was caught in the last 16th; benefits from turn back here.

Selections: 6, 2, 4, 5

Race 7) 1&1/16th Mile. (Turf) Edgewood S. presented by Newport Racing & Gaming Grade II. Purse $300,000 FOR FILLIES, THREE YEARS OLD

6) Aunt Pearl (Cox/Geroux); Irish lassie out of Lope De Vega is reigning BC Filly Turf champ and is undefeated in three career races; she’s led at every call in those starts and expect her to do the same here.

5) Line Dancing (Matz/Leparoux); filly by Speightstown is going to get overlooked, however if you look closely at her last it showed the late kick that’ll threaten the champ.

1) Postnup (DeVaux/Ortiz, I.); Declaration of War filly’s form is on the upswing as she’s strung together three solid efforts at Fair Grounds winning her last two.

2) Gift List (Lynch/Castellano); either first or second in 6 starts, her last a grinding place finish in the Grade 2 Appalachian which was her North American debut.

Selections: 6, 5, 1, 2

Race 9) 7 Furlongs. Eight Belles S. presented by Smithfield Grade II. Purse $300,000 FOR FILLIES, THREE YEARS OLD.

11) Abrogate (Asmussen/Santana); by Outwork, she’s won 3-of-4 highlighted by her battling win in the Purple Martin at Oaklawn.

5) Windmill (Jones/Smith); gave way “stubbornly” to the top pick last out; Jones, trainer of the ill-fated race’s namesake, goes to Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith, a difference maker.

10) Dayoutoftheoffice (Hamm/Corrales); by Into Mischief, filly was a multiple graded stakes winner as a juvenile and the BC runner-up. Today’s distance cutback and much needed rest keeps her in contention for a board spot.

12) Caramel Swirl (Mott/Saez); broke her maiden last month at Keeneland and a duplication of that winning time has this Union Rags daughter looking to make it 2-in-a-row.

9) Li’l Tootsie (Amoss/Prat); cutback angle for trainer Tom Amoss is 26 percent, and with an extremely quick work on the books, she’ll be ready to fire.

Selections: 11, 5, 10, 12, 9

Race 10) 5½ Furlongs. (Turf)Twin Spires Turf Sprint S. presented by Sysco

5) Just Might (Lovell/Hernandez, C.); gelded 5-year-old out of Justin Phillip always bounces back following a well off the board finish as was the case last out in the Shakertown; his breakthrough win here.

9) Diamond Oops (Biancone/Geroux); Lookin At Lucky 6-year-olds lone win on the turf from 4 tries was in this contest a year ago; Geroux returns fro repeat attempt.

11) Carotari (Lynch/Leparoux); in the money with 11 of his 14 starts at the distance; owns a second and third over this course.

3) Fiya (Albertrani/Saez); winner of 5-straight all in turf sprints. Taking a stand against because of the obvious class hike, but Friesan Fire 4-year-old could be tough to catch if loose on the lead.

Selections: 5, 9, 11, 3