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KENTUCKY OAKS REPORT APRIL 30, 2010 The Kentucky Oaks (G1) will have a full field this year and, with the defection of Devil May Care (Malibu Moon) to the Derby (G1) one day later, there are quite a few in with a shot at the win. I'll give out my four top picks and throw in a longshot special. AMEN HALLELUJAH (Montbrook) was easily best of the rest when running second to Devil May Care in the Bonnie Miss S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park last out, and I think the Richard Dutrow filly has what it takes to win the Oaks. The dark bay miss has performed well on synthetic surfaces in California and Kentucky during her career, but didn't exactly burn up the track while winning the Santa Ynez S. (G2) and placing in last year's Hollywood Starlet (G1) and Alcibiades S. (G1). It wasn't until Amen Hallelujah shipped into Gulfstream Park for the Davona Dale S. (G2) that she was able to showcase her true talent. Saving ground on the inside, she easily drew off under Julien Leparoux to be 6 1/4 lengths clear on the line. Stretching out one more furlong for the Bonnie Miss, the sophomore filly led into the stretch but couldn't keep pace with Devil May Care late. She still earned a nice 104 BRIS E2 Pace rating and 98 BRIS Speed figure. Amen Hallelujah has the ability to take the win here. I wasn't all that big on BLIND LUCK (Pollard's Vision) until she won her first dirt stakes in the Fantasy S. (G2) at Oaklawn Park. I know many were citing her 13 1/4-length trouncing of maiden rivals on Calder's dirt in her career bow, but considering that happened last summer against non-winners, I still needed more proof she could reproduce that form. Blind Luck put all my fears to rest with her Fantasy score and, based on her Grade 1-winning ways in California, is one of the top three-year-old fillies in the country at this time. The extra sixteenth of the Oaks shouldn't offer any problems, and the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained chestnut will be tough to deny in late stretch. JODY SLEW (Slew City Slew) doesn't possess quite the same BRIS numbers as others in here, but the Bret Calhoun runner has outrun expectations so many times already that I can't leave her out of my top selections. Sent off at 23-1 in the Tiffany Lass S. at Fair Grounds in late January, the bay filly raced wide before drifting closer to the inside. She rallied from the rear of the field and was a half-length clear on the line. Still not given much respect after the Tiffany Lass, Jody Slew was 8-1 in the Silverbulletday S. (G3) and posted a rallying nose victory on that day. She ran seventh in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), but that came following a casting incident in her stall. Calhoun has given Jody Slew plenty of time to recover from any soreness she suffered and the Fair Grounds Oaks should have set her up perfectly for the Oaks. While I was only planning on giving out my three top fillies, I have to add that TIDAL POOL (Yankee Gentleman) has a good shot, especially with Calvin Borel in the saddle and D. Wayne Lukas on training duties. The bay miss was a dominating eight-length allowance winner prior to running second in the Fantasy and posted a pair of triple-digit Speed ratings for those two starts. She could be peaking at just the right time. On a sidenote, stablemate Dublin (Afleet Alex) is my pick for the Derby, so we could have a Lukas Oaks/Derby double. Longshot: While I don't expect JOANIE'S CATCH (First Tour) to win this, the chestnut miss could continue to do what she's done all year long -- grab a piece of the top three. For that reason, I'm tabbing the Barry Rose trainee as my longshot. Breaking from the far outside post 14 and listed at 30-1 on the morning line, Joanie's Catch likely won't draw much support and should go off at great odds. The three-year-old lass has yet to score since taking the Brave Raj S. last September at Calder, but she's also not finished worse than third in nine subsequent starts. She was runner-up in the Old Hat S. (G3), Forward Gal S. (G2) and Davona Dale, then ran third in the Bonnie Miss before posting a paid workout when third in the Florida Cup Sophomore Filly S. Joanie's Catch just shipped in from her Florida homebase, so she's been able to stick to a normal work schedule on a fast dirt track. While Derby Day is shaping up to be a rainy mess, Oaks Day is forecast to be sunny and pleasant. A fast track, and a little bit of luck, could give this filly the chance to shine when it really counts.
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