Jones pleased with Believe You Can ahead of New Orleans Ladies

Jones pleased with Believe You Can ahead of New Orleans

Ladies

Believe You Can parlayed a win in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds

Oaks to another in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks a few weeks later for trainer Larry

Jones last year.

This year, the daughter of Proud Citizen debuted with a 10 1/4-length tally in

the Tiffany Lass at Fair Grounds on February 2, but

her main objective of the winter is Saturday's fourth running of the $150,000 New Orleans Ladies at the Crescent City oval.

The four-year-old miss pleased her connections with a bullet five-furlong breeze in

:59 2/5 Monday morning in advance of that

assignment.

"She worked very well Monday," Jones said Wednesday morning during training

hours. "She was really sharp. This is the race we have targeted all along for

Believe You Can.

"As of right now, I've got Young and

Lovely (second in her most recent start on January 18) and Totally Tucker (first by 4

1/4 in her last race on January 17) going in the race with her," the conditioner

added.

Less encouraging was an update concerning a pair of sophomore fillies

Jones had penciled in for this year's Fair Grounds Oaks on March 30.

"I won't say it's an absolute impossibility that we would run Smitten in the Fair Grounds Oaks,"

he remarked, "but at this point it looks like

we would be chasing an improbable dream.

"She didn't get a lot out of that race

the other day (when eighth in the Allen LaCombe Memorial on Saturday) on that soft turf.

(Jockey) Rosie (Napravnik)

said she just kept going (sinking) down into that soft ground with those tiny

little feet she has. Smitten would have to come back and show me some really

good works between now and the Oaks for me to give the race serious

consideration for her.

"As for Divine Happiness, she got hurt in

her race on Sunday (when third in an optional claimer)," Jones continued. "She wasn't walking well at all after that race

and we've had to send her to the clinic to try and find out exactly what's wrong

with her, but I'd say it's more than likely that she'll be away from racing for

a long time.

"I guess our only horse likely for the Oaks now is Blue Violet,"

Jones concluded, speaking of the daughter of Curlin who was third in the Grade

3 Rachel Alexandra on February 23.