Although she is not among the 14 horses with sufficient graded stakes earnings needed to get in the starting gate for the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I), L.T.B. Inc. and Miles Childers’ Sheer Beauty continues to work toward the April 30 race.
The gray daughter of Mizzen Mast breezed four furlongs April 17 over a "good" track at Churchill Downs in :48.40, which was 14th fastest of 54 horses working at the distance. With jockey James Graham aboard, Sheer Beauty covered the distance in fractional times of :12 .20, :24 40, :36.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.80.
Trained and co-owned by Bernie Flint Sheer Beauty is tied for 21st for a race that is limited to 14 fillies with preference given to fillies with highest total earnings in graded stakes races.
"Graham jumped off and said, ‘Good to go’," said Flint. "He really liked the way she went. We [jogged] a mile before we breezed her and she galloped out in a minute-one and a couple. He didn’t really ask her to run – he said he moved his hands a little bit."
Flint said he would continue to train Sheer Beauty as if she would make the 14-filly Oaks field, with the Eight Belles (gr. III) at 7 1/2-furlongs on Kentucky Derby Day as a fallback position.
"I really don’t want to go back to a sprinting mile, and that’s little short of a sprinting mile," said Flint. "I want to go around two turns. If I don’t get in and it works out that way, it just works out that way. There’s nothing I can do about it."