The 1 1/8-mile race, which has been renewed without interruption since the victory by A.B. Lewis and Co.'s Vinaigrette in its inaugural running in 1875, is scheduled for Friday, April 30. The sister race to the famed Kentucky Derby (GI) will be televised live to a national audience on ESPN. Last year's running, won by Marylou Whitney Stable's Bird Town, was witnessed by an on-track crowd of 100,523, which marked the fifth consecutive year in which Oaks attendance topped the 100,000 mark.
Halfbridled, a homebred daughter of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled trained by Richard Mandella, was unchallenged in four races at two. She capped her season by overcoming an outside post to score a 2 ½-length victory in the Juvenile Fillies at Oak Tree at Santa Anita. A win in Churchill Downs' premier race for 3-year-old fillies would make her the third Juvenile Fillies winner to also take the Kentucky Oaks. Mike Pegram's Silverbulletday (1999) and Eugene Klein's Open Mind (1989) won both races. Fran's Valentine, the 1985 Oaks winner, finished first in the inaugural Juvenile Fillies at Hollywood Park in 1984, but was disqualified and placed 10th.
The lightly raced A.P. Adventure, trained by Wally Dollase, won her only start as a juvenile when she took a one-mile race in late October at Santa Anita. She returned to competition in early January with an easy victory in the Santa Ysabel (GIII) over the same track and followed that with her recent win in the Las Virgenes.
Other major stakes winners nominated to the Kentucky Oaks include George Krikorian's Hollywood Story, winner of the Hollywood Starlet (GI) and runner-up in the Las Virgenes; Starlight Stable and Paul Saylor's Ashado, winner of Saratoga's Spinaway (GI), Aqueduct's Demoiselle (GII), and runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; Emory Hamilton's La Reina, winner of the Tempted (GIII) and runner-up in the Demoiselle; Bruce Lunsford's Madcap Escapade, unbeaten in two starts and a dazzling winner of the Old Hat at Gulfstream Park; Stonerside Stable's Miss Coronado, winner of Gulfstream's Davona Dale (GII Irving and Marjorie Cowan's Society Selection, winner of the Frizette (GI) at Belmont Park; Thomas Van Meter II's Victory U.S.A., winner of the Mocassin at Hollywood Park and third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies; Golden Eagle Farm's Yearly Report, winner of the Santa Ynez (GII) at Santa Anita; Padua Stable's Class Above, a 16-length winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies at Turfway Park; and Dolphus Morrison's Lotta Kim, runner-up in the Golden Rod (GII) at Churchill Downs and winner of the Tiffany Lass at the Fair Grounds. [p] Todd Pletcher, who nominated a record 35 3-year-olds to the Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown, nominated 14 fillies to the Oaks. Four-time Oaks winner D. Wayne Lukas nominated nine fillies, while Mark Hennig made six fillies eligible for the race. [p] Robert and Beverly Lewis and Overbrook Farm led all owners as each nominated six fillies to the Oaks, including one filly that owned in partnership by those parties. [p] Last year, Bird Town, a homebred daughter of Cape Town, provided Marylou Whitney with her first Oaks victory as an owner. Her late husband, C.V. Whitney, had owned three winners of the race. Bird Town was also the first Oaks winner for trainer Nick Zito, a two-time winner of the Kentucky Derby, and jockey Edgar Prado. [p] Bird Town went on to earn an Eclipse Award as America's champion 3-year-old filly. She was the fourth Kentucky Oaks participant in six years to be named champion of her division. Silverbulletday (1999) and Old Friends, Inc. and Winner Silk, Inc.'s Farda Amiga (2002) won the Oaks in their championship seasons, while James Tafel's 1998 champion Banshee Breeze was second to Keeper Hill in that year's renewal. [p] The complete list of 3-year-old fillies nominated to the 130th Kentucky Oaks may be viewed at www.kentuckyoaks.com _z_horseracing_z_);
