Absolutely Cindy was better than the boys in the John Battaglia, but will now face some of the best in the filly ranks (Ed Van Meter/Horsephotos.com)

ABSOLUTELY CINDY (Arch), winner of the John Battaglia Memorial S. over the boys, breezed three furlongs in :37 over the fast dirt at Churchill Downs on Sunday. With the quick move, the Keith Kinmon bred, owned and trained lass earned her a chance at Friday's $500,000 Kentucky Oaks (G1) over the same dirt track.

"That was what we were looking for," explained Kinmon, who had been considering sending his bay charge to the Edgewood S. on the Oaks undercard. "We trained over (the track) for a few days and today we let her run down the lane to make sure she is going to handle it. We are tickled to death with what she did."

Absolutely Cindy went to the track after the renovation break under Brian Hernandez, posting splits of :12 3/5 and :25 before galloping out a half-mile in :49 3/5. Except for the Silverbulletday S. (G3) at Fair Grounds, where she finished sixth, the three-year-old miss has raced exclusively on either turf or Polytrack. Kinmon, however, is not worried about her making the switch in the Oaks.

"Everybody thinks she is a Polytrack specialist," he said. "I've always said that she would like this dirt track because her mother (Ms. Boucheron [L'Enjoleur]) loved this surface."

The Oaks will be Absolutely Cindy's third start within a month. After her Battaglia score, she returned on Keeneland's Polytrack to finish sixth in the April 5 Ashland S. (G1), then came back 11 days later to run a close seventh in the grassy Appalachian S. (G3) on April 11.

Proud Spell is trainer Larry Jones' hope in the Oaks (Harold Roth/Horsephotos.com)

Also breezing at Churchill on Sunday for the Oaks was multiple Grade 2 victress PROUD SPELL (Proud Citizen). Third in the Ashland most recently, she posted a sharp five furlongs in :58 2/5 for trainer Larry Jones with Gabriel Saez in the irons.

"Proud Spell's work was exactly what I wanted," Jones said. "I told Gabriel I wanted a good work in her, something like she did prior to the Breeders' Cup (Juvenile Fillies [G1] where she ran second). She's had a couple of slow works over the Poly at Keeneland and she needed this. It was good for her."

Jones led the bay lass to the track after the midmorning renovation break, backtracked a bit and gave her a running start at the five-furlong pole before letting Saez take over. Proud Spell quickened to register fractions of :11 2/5, :22 3/5, :34 2/5 and :46 2/5 before galloping out three-quarters in 1:12 4/5.

"Proud Spell worked well," noted Saez, who will likely be in the saddle for the 134th Kentucky Oaks. "When I worked her over at Keeneland, I had to push on her to get her to go. But here, she just went right on with it."