Faced with a scheduling dilemma of wanting to work most of his classic horses in one day, trainer Todd Pletcher sent his contenders for the Kentucky Oaks to the Churchill Downs track shortly after it opened for training.
First on the track for Pletcher was Stonestreet Stable's Dreaming of Julia, who breezed four furlongs in :51, getting the first quarter mile in :25 4/5 under exercise rider Humberto Zamora. The A.P. Indy filly who was a scintillating 21 3/4-length winner of the Gulfstream Park Oaks (gr. II) last out, galloped out five furlongs in 1:03 3/5.
Silsita, with Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens aboard, breezed five furlongs in 1:00 in company with stablemate Unlimited Budget, who was timed in :59 3/5. Silsita's splits were :23 3/5, :35 1/5, and :47. She galloped out six furlongs in 1:13 3/5.
Stevens, who recently returned to riding after a seven-year break, said Silsita's work was better than it looked.
"I took a hold of her at the three-eighths (pole)," he said. "She was very keen going to the pole and I didn't want her kicking all the way in. But she got over the track well and it was a good effort for her."
Princess of Sylmar, a multiple stakes-winning daughter of Majestic Warrior owned by King of Prussia Stable, breezed in company with Fusaichiswonderful, going four furlongs in :49 1/5, with splits of :13 1/5, :25 1/5, and :37 3/5 while galloping out five furlongs in 1:01 3/5.
"I thought they all did well," Pletcher said. "Unlimited Budget was our strongest and fastest today. She's doing well. Dreaming of Julia—we tried to do with her what we did coming up to the Gulfstream Oaks (a :50 4/5 breeze). We didn't want her going too fast. We wanted to save something with her. All in all, it was good. I was happy with the whole bunch."
Pletcher said he was still up in the air over whether Princess of Sylmar would run in the Oaks, indicating the Black-Eyed Susan (gr. II) at Pimlico might be a better option.
"Princess of Sylmar worked much, much better today," said Pletcher, adding that he and the owner would make a decision soon on the filly's status.
West Point Thoroughbreds and Tom Keithley's Flashy Gray worked in company with her Bill Mott stablemate Cost Effective. The Oaks prospect started a length back of the workmate and then finished five lengths in front with a time of 1:01 for five furlongs. The splits were :13, :25 1/5, :37, and :49, galloping out six furlongs in 1:14.
"I thought it was very good,'' Mott said. "They went off nicely. They were off easy in 13 and picked it up. It's all we needed. I think the most important part was that the rider (Penny Gardiner) felt like (Flashy Gray) was there when she needed her.''
Dreaming of Julia works at Churchill Downs 4/27/2013.
Reed Palmer/Churchill Downs