Champion Groupie Doll continued preparations for the Oct. 5 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland and a planned Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) defense with a half-mile move over the slop at Churchill Downs Sept. 21.
The 5-year-old daughter of Bowman's Band covered the distance in :50 2/5 for trainer William "Buff" Bradley with regular exercise partner Jada Schlenk in the saddle. She recorded internal fractions of :13 and :25 3/5 and galloped our five furlongs in 1:04 2/5.
"We sent her out early this morning, because she was ready to do something," Bradley said of the 2012 Eclipse Award-winning female sprinter. "Walking in the shedrow before she went out there she was jumping and bucking a bit, so she knew it was time to do something today.
"We just let her go easy. I told Jada to go in about :50 and don't ever let her out—just let her go around there. The track was sloppy, but it was sealed and it was in pretty good shape and had a good bottom to it. So we knew if we just let her go around there easy and stretch her legs, it would be good. It was perfect. Everything is going very well."
After a recent victory in the Sept. 9 Presque Isle Masters (gr. II) at Presque Isle Downs in her second start of 2013, Bradley is pointing Groupie Doll toward a defense of her 2012 victory in the Thoroughbred Club of America. If all goes well there, Bradley will send Groupie Doll back to Santa Anita Park for a bid at a second consecutive win in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
Owned by a partnership that includes her trainer and his father, Fred Bradley, and Carl Hurst and Brent Burns, Groupie Doll has a career record of 10-4-3 in 19 lifetime races and has earned $1,908,850.