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Chiming in with a win Ashland Stakes champ faces crowded field in Oaks
Posted: Thursday May 04, 2000 09:30 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Trainer Lonnie Arterburn was thrilled when Rings A Chime won the $550,250 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland for her first victory outside California. He'd like to make it 2-for-2 in Kentucky in Friday's $500,000 Grade I Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs. "I've never been to Kentucky except for the sales," Arterburn said. "This filly is as close as I've ever had to (a 'big' horse). "She always runs hard and usually runs well. I expect a good effort out of her." Despite her impressive wire-to-wire victory over Zoftig and Circle of Life in the Ashland, Rings A Chime will not be one of the favorites in the crowded 14-horse Oaks field. Kumari Continent, ridden by David Flores, is the early 4-1 favorite followed by trainer Neil Howard's Secret Status at 9-2 with Pat Day aboard. D. Wayne Lukas' powerful filly Surfside most likely would have been the favorite but surgery April 20 to remove bone chips from her left front ankle knocked her from the race. Lukas still will saddle Cash Run, an upset winner over Chilukki and Surfside in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, in Friday's race. Cash Run, a 6-1 shot with Jerry Bailey aboard, was favored in the Ashland but finished a disappointing fourth. "I took her over to Keeneland and she didn't look anything like the horse I led over there," Lukas said of Cash Run. "But if you try to handicap off the way a horse runs at Keeneland, you're in trouble. She's trained real well since Keeneland, and that's all we needed to see. "It's a big field just like the Derby and wide open. It's going to be a competitive race. And a good race." Arterburn, whose speedy filly is an 12-1 shot with Shane Sellers aboard, said the packed field could make for a rough ride. "If I was to pick, I'd rather be running against two other horses. But I can't pick, so you do what you can. Sometimes a big field helps the speed horses because the good closers have to go through traffic." Trainer Todd Pletcher, who will saddle four horses in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, will send out Circle of Life and Eden Lodge in the Oaks. The last two Oaks winners, Keeper Hill and Silverbulletday, will go head-to-head on Oaks day as well. Silverbulletday, trained by Bob Baffert and unbeaten in five career starts at Churchill Downs, will run against Keeper Hill, the 1998 Oaks winner and winner of the Grade I Spinster Stakes last October, in the Grade II $250,000 Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap. The Oaks lineup, from the rail out with jockeys, includes Gold for My Gal, Willie Martinez (30-1); Zoftig, Marlon St. Julien (12-1); Kumari Continent; Secret Status; Miss Seffens, Jon Court (15-1); Bejoyfulandrejoice, Jorge Chavez (12-1); Vivid Sunset, Robby Albarado (15-1); Rings A Chime; Circle of Life, Richard Migliore (12-1); Cash Run; Classy Cara, Iggy Puglisi (6-1); Velvet Morning, Alex Solis (12-1); Spain, Corey Nakatani (10-1); Eden Lodge, John Velazquez (20-1).
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