Midnight Bisou, Patrona Margarita gear up for Kentucky Oaks

Santa Anita Oaks (G1) heroine Midnight Bisou, likely to vie for Kentucky Oaks (G1) favoritism with Monomoy Girl, geared up for their May 4 clash with an early Sunday morning work at Santa Anita.

The Bill Spawr trainee covered five furlongs in 1:01.60, putting her in a joint 36th of 76 at the distance on a hectic day for works. She galloped out six in 1:14.60 beneath Martin Pedroza.

Beaten a nose by now-sidelined Dream Tree in her two juvenile starts, Midnight Bisou has won her three outings this season in dominant style with Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith. The Midnight Lute filly broke her maiden in the Santa Ynez (G2) and successfully stretched out to two turns in the Santa Ysabel (G3) en route to the Santa Anita Oaks.

Patrona Margarita, just added back into Oaks consideration, reeled off a half-mile in :48.80 at Churchill Downs.

The winner of the first Kentucky Oaks scoring race, last September’s Pocahontas (G2), the Bret Calhoun pupil recorded fractions of :12.60, :24.60 and :36.80. Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols further reported that she galloped out five furlongs in 1:02 and tacked on a sixth in 1:15.60.

“She’s been doing very well,” Calhoun said of the Texas-bred, whose only subsequent results were a fourth in the Rachel Alexandra (G2) at Fair Grounds and a recent third in Keeneland’s Ashland (G1).

“She had a couple of rough months at Fair Grounds with some fungus on her leg that we had to treat with antibiotics and give her some time off. I think now she’s just really getting turned around from the antibiotics. She wasn’t close to top shape in the Ashland but is doing really well now.”

Calhoun is double-handed in the Oaks with Classy Act, the Rachel Alexandra runner-up who exits a fourth in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), set to line up as well. Patrona Margarita and Classy Act rank 12th and 13th, respectively, on the Oaks leaderboard behind Midnight Bisou.