With jockey Rosie Napravnik aboard, Naveed Chowhan's Seaneen Girl posted her final workout for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) the morning of April 29, breezing a half-mile in :48 4/5, 10th fastest of 43 working the distance over a fast track at Churchill Downs.
"She worked really, really fine," said trainer Bernie Flint, the retired policeman based at the Louisville, Ky., track. "She did exactly what I wanted her to do. Rosie was very happy with what she saw and what she had."
A daughter of Spring At Last—Afternoon Krystal, by Afternoon Deelites bred in Kentucky by John Trumbulovic, Seaneen Girl was purchased privately by Flint last fall when she was running at Woodbine in Canada. Included in her two victories in seven starts is the 2012 Golden Rod Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill.
Seaneen Girl is coming into the Oaks off a third-place finish in the March 30 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) in her only start of 2013. Flint said the plan was to have two starts prior to the Oaks but that his filly lost some time due to a bruised foot. He says the setback may work to her favor in the Oaks.
"She's a fresh horse. She's run only run one time in four or five months," Flint said.
The trainer said Seaneen Girl is not going to intimidate her Oaks competition, standing at just slightly more than 15 hands tall. After all, he said, being a mid-May 2010 foal Seaneen Girl will be one of the youngest fillies in the race.
"She's just a smaller type of horse," Flint said. "She's not an imposing horse but everything is in the right spot. Her legs are perfect. She's what I look for in a middle-of-the-road horse."
Flint said that when he found out he was able to obtain the services of Napravnik, who was profiled April 28 on the CBS program 60 Minutes, "It was a no-brainer. She has always ridden well for me. I think it was a stroke of luck."
The trainer concurred with other observers who said the Oaks field is one of the best in recent years, but that he believes his filly will be able to hold her own.
"I think a couple of these horses could run in the (Kentucky) Derby (Presented by Yum! Brands, gr. I), and run well. But they chose not to do it for an obvious reason. They want to run in the easier race. Sometimes the easier race turns out to be the hardest race.
"She's not running just to be running. Anybody who knows me knows my horse is competitive. At some point in the race, she's going to be seen and heard from. She's fresh, she's ready to run, and she's at the top of her game."
