Sign, Seaneen Girl likely to meet in Rachel Alexandra

The Road to the Fair Grounds Oaks kicks off in the $125,000 Silverbulletday

Stakes on January 19, the same day that Derby hopefuls contest the Grade 3

Lecomte. The Silverbulletday is worth 17 points (10 for first, four for second,

two for third, one for fourth) toward Kentucky Oaks qualification.

Below are the leading Fair Grounds fillies to watch, listed alphabetically,

based on past performances, published works and interviews with horsemen.

Inclusion on this list does not necessarily mean that the horse is known to be

under consideration for upcoming Fair Grounds stakes.

BLUEEYESINTHEREIN (Garry Simms) – Magna Graduate filly is two-for-two,

including a win in the Grade 3 Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs in June. Had

first work since July at Fair Grounds on Saturday. 

"She worked her first three-eighths and did it beautifully," Simms said. "We

just took it nice and easy, :37 and change, wouldn't blow out a match. She had a

little tibia fracture in her left hind. No surgery, just time off. We turned her

out, gave her time, and she's doing great. I'm not going to rush her, but she'll

get ready quick. I've got a lot of bottom in her. I worked her three-eighths but

she went out a half in :50-and-something and she looked like I just jogged her."

BROTHERHOOD SINGER (Simms) – Dehere filly was third as the even-money

favorite in the December 22 overnight $60,000 Letellier Memorial going six

furlongs. She was an easy entry-level allowance winner at Churchill Downs in

November after fading to seventh in her stakes debut in the Grade 2 Pocahontas. 

"I think she'll go long," Simms said. "I backed off of her because she'd run

quite a bit. She just needed the (last) race. It won't be so easy for them next

time, I promise you. She'll stretch it out. She's a good filly. She's possible

(for the Silverbulletday). I would prefer to keep mine separate but if they're

all ready, what do you do?"

CLOUDY IN SANDIEGO (Steve Margolis) – Filly from the deceased War Pass's

second and final crop came back to convincingly win last Friday's two-turn

entry-level allowance gate to wire after a disappointing ninth-place finish in

the November 17 Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess Stakes. Was fourth in the October

27 Pocahontas at Churchill following an October 2 win at Hoosier. 

"I think she still had a little more in the tank; it's not like she was all

out," Margolis said. "She's always acted like she had some quality and we just

have to see if she can go on to the next level now. The Silverbulletday is back

in three weeks, so we'll have to see. I don't think that last race was real hard

on her and if she missed this one, then we'd have to wait seven weeks."

ESTONIA (Neil Howard) – Flashy Bull filly won a December 1 two-turn

entry-level allowance by three lengths, her second victory in three starts. 

"This time of year, with a two-year-old that's won two races, if you don't

run in the Silverbulletday there's nowhere else to run," Howard said. "We are,

obviously, thinking about it. She's training fine. She's an improving filly but

she still has a long way to go. We know it's going to be a tall order, but if

everything's fine with her and it looks like a chance for her to pick up some

black type…"

FINDING MORE (Kellyn Gorder) – Washington-bred Trickey Trevor filly has won

three in a row, including an October entry-level allowance at Churchill Downs

and the Letellier Memorial going six furlongs at Fair Grounds. 

"I think we will see if she can go two turns," assistant trainer Evan Downing

said. "It does sound like she has more sprint breeding, but she won going

seven-eighths last time (October 28 at Churchill) so we'll probably try."

FLASHY CAMPAIGN (Tom Amoss) – Political Force filly easily won at first

asking going six furlongs opening weekend, then finished second to Cloudy in

Sandiego as the odds-on choice in her first try stretching out in last Friday's

entry-level allowance in the slop. 

"The idea was to break," Amoss said, "and I thought she'd be on the front

end, but that's not how it went. We were disappointed and we'll regroup and try

again. Chances are she'll run in the (Silverbulletday)."

GAL ABOUT TOWN (Bret Calhoun) – City Zip filly was second in both of

Churchill's fall Grade 2 juvenile filly stakes, the Golden Rod at 1 1/16 miles

and the Pocahontas at one mile. She broke her maiden in September at Monmouth

Park and beat winners handily at Keeneland in October.

"We're shooting for the Silverbulletday for her next start," Calhoun said. "I

thought she ran great in the Golden Rod. We were a little disappointed she

didn't win, but she ran great so we're happy with that."

GIVMETHREESTEPSMR (Simms) – Magna Graduate filly won impressively first time

out sprinting at Ellis Park in July. Has four published works at Fair Grounds in

December and is up to five-eighths in preparation for her return to the races. 

"She's a pretty special filly," Simms said. "She was a June 15 foal, but we

ran her the one time and she came up a little funny. She's on the same timetable

as Circle Unbroken; they've been workmates from the first three-eighths on.

They're both push-button, really easy horses to train. We've got high hopes for

her; I think she's a good filly but we'll have to see as the competition gets

tougher. She's pretty close, too. (The Silverbulletday) is the one I'm kind of

looking at, if I can make it. I think she's that good and she'll run all day."

MADAME CACTUS (Steve Asmussen) – Cactus Ridge filly broke her maiden by more

than six lengths sprinting at Santa Anita and came back to win the My Trusty Cat

at Delta by two. Finished fourth in the Delta Downs Princess as the favorite and

returned to the track with an easy half-mile work at Fair Grounds on December

17. 

"We sent her to the Fair Grounds and backed off on her for a little bit,

tack-walked her and let her transition from a two-year-old to a three-year-old,"

owner Marc Ferrell of VinMar Farm said. "We have our eyes set on the

Silverbulletday as her return race and that'll be the first step. She showed

such a turn of foot in her first three races, to come up to that fourth one in

that fashion was a little bit disappointing. But it all made sense in the final

analysis; she got shuffled back to last and whatever could have gone wrong did.

She's probably going to work in company on Wednesday."

MAGICAL MOON (Al Stall Jr.) – Malibu Moon filly broke her maiden on the

Saratoga turf by more than 10 lengths and came back to run third in the Grade 1

Alcibiades over Keeneland's Polytrack. Has posted two easy three-furlong works,

on December 24 and again on Sunday.

"She went to South Carolina just to hang around after the Alcibiades," Stall

said. "She's a 'non-winners of two,' so we'll do that first and go from there.

We'll get her back on the dirt, though, just to see if she likes it. She's

trained so well on it we can't figure out why she ran like she did in her first

race (a fifth at Churchill Downs in June)."

MELODY LADY (Asmussen) – Bred to be a champion by Unbridled's Song out of

multiple Grade 1 winner and 2003 Fair Grounds Oaks heroine Lady Tak, the gray

filly won a December 13 six-furlong maiden special weight by 2 3/4 lengths with

little urging. 

"In her first start she kind of faltered and stopped, which was a surprise to

Steve and to us, but she ran big to break her maiden," co-owner John Sikura of

Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings said. "Baby steps and we'll see where she takes

us. It's early yet and all options are open. We'll leave it to Steve to find the

next spot and hopefully she'll pass the next test. Lady Tak was a phenomenal

race filly, world-class, and hopefully this filly will continue on and be

black-type quality."

SEANEEN GIRL (Bernie Flint) – Spring at Last filly posted a 31-1 upset in the

Golden Rod at Churchill Downs. Made her first five starts over Woodbine's

Polytrack, including a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Mazarine in October. Has

four works over the Fair Grounds track in December.

"We're only going to run her two times here, and then she's going to the

(Kentucky) Oaks," Flint said. "We'll probably wait for the one in February (the

Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra on February 23). I don't want to use her too much.

We've got enough points. I don't ask much of her now. She's rested, she's

growing, she looks good and we just need her to keep going that way."

SIGN (Stall) – Pulpit filly is two-for-two, including a win in the Pocahontas

at Churchill Downs. Hasn't worked since but is expected to make her highly

anticipated 2013 debut in the Rachel Alexandra.

"She's back in training," Stall said. "We gave her some time off; she had one

of those bone bruise deals in her hind ankle. We just gave her a little breather

and we're starting her again. I guess she's still on schedule for the Rachel

Alexandra."

SITTIN AT THE BAR (Brett Brinkman) – By Into Mischief, the top Louisiana-bred

filly at the meet won the December 8 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie by eight

lengths and added Monday's fillies' division of the restricted Louisiana

Futurity. In November she finished third versus open company in the Delta

Princess. Another easy win against state-bred company today could prompt the

connections to consider one of the upcoming open stakes. 

"She came out of that race (the Delta Princess) in good order," Brinkman

said, "and we were undecided and then as we progressed along, she made us more

confident. She is a classy filly."

SMITTEN (Larry Jones) – Tapit filly broke her maiden in a December 16

two-turn maiden special weight.

"We're going to nominate her (to the Silverbulletday)," Jones said, "and

we'll see if an allowance race goes or not. It's so hard to get the allowance

races to go. But I'm sure going to run her somewhere in January, the good Lord

willing. I don't know if she's there yet, but I do think this filly could be a

really nice horse."

TOUCH MAGIC (Pat Devereux) – Lion Heart filly just missed in the Delta

Princess, finishing second by a half-length. Returned to South Florida following

that start but is back in Louisiana at the Evangeline Training Center after

being purchased privately by the Coteau Grove Farm of Keith and Ginger Myers.

"We nominated to the Silverbulletday and that's our plan, to go there next,"

Devereux said. "She's doing great. We hope she'll stretch out as the spring goes

on, but she's a nice filly either way. She just hasn't done anything wrong. We

vetted her out comprehensively and she scored well everywhere. She was just

about the best available we could buy; we wanted a good filly turning three and

she is one. I'm going to try to bring her to Fair Grounds to work her on Sunday

(January 6)."

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com