TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019 BELLAFINA TABBED KENTUCKY DERBY DOINGS: LONG RANGE TODDY TUNES UP M-L OAKS FAVORITE Willis Horton Racing LLC.=s Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy), winner of the first division of the GII Rebel S., completed preparations for Saturday=s GI Kentucky Derby with a four- furlong work in :47.80 (5/40) Monday at Churchill Downs. He galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.20 and six furlongs in 1:12.40. The Steve Asmussen trainee will need to rebound from a sixth- place effort over a sloppy track in the Apr. 13 GI Arkansas Derby, but a victory Saturday would make 58-year-old Jon Court the oldest jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. AThat would be a beautiful thing,@ Asmussen said. AJon gave him such a dream trip in the Rebel. Hopefully, we can recapture some of that magic Saturday. Hopefully, we=ll have a fast track like we had [Monday] morning. He worked beautifully this morning.@ Cont. p5 Kentucky Oaks draw | Coady Photography IN TDN EUROPE TODAY A field of 14 fillies, plus two also-eligibles, was drawn Monday SKITTER SCATTER PUTS OXX BACK ON CLASSIC morning for Friday=s GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The TRAIL Emma Berry speaks with trainer John Oxx at The Curragh 2-1 morning-line favorite is multiple Grade I winner Bellafina regarding his champion and G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas entrant (Quality Road), who will break from post four and is coming off a Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy). 5 1/4-length victory in the Apr. 6 GI Santa Anita Oaks. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. AIt=s a good post for her. I=m fine with it,@ trainer Simon Callaghan said. AI see there=s a fair amount of speed outside us and I=m thinking the race should set up nicely. She=s very versatile and doesn=t need the lead in order to win. I think she=ll find a place where she=s comfortable.@ Second choice on the morning line at 5-1 is another daughter of Quality Road, Peter Brant=s Dunbar Road, who is the first also-eligible and would need one defection to draw into the field. Trained by Chad Brown, the filly has made just two starts and was second in the Mar. 30 GII Gulfstream Park Oaks. AWe haven=t made any plans for after this yet,@ Brown said. AWe=ll see how the week goes and hope she gets in.@ Fern Circle Stables and Three Chimneys Farm=s GI Darley Alcibiades S. winner Restless Rider (Distorted Humor), post 14; and Six Column Stables and Randy Bloch=s Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Champagne Anyone (Street Sense), post 10, are 6-1 co-third choices. AThat=s fine with me,@ trainer Ian Wilkes said of Champagne Anyone=s post 10. AWe=re going to play the break. The filly laid a little closer last time, it was a slow pace.@ Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Amie Morosco Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey Photographer/Photo Editor Multiple Grade I winner By the Moon, owned by Samantha Seigel's Jay Em Ess Stables, Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew has foaled a filly from Arrogate's first crop. We catch up with Seigel and the filly's [email protected] connections in this TDN video, presented by Juddmonte. Click here to have a look. Social Media Strategist Justina Severni SO, WHO WOULD YOU RIDE IN THE DERBY? 5 Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes The TDN has polled some of the top riders in the history of the [email protected] sport and asked them to answer this simple question: If given a choice of any of the 20 starters in the GI Kentucky Derby who Marketing Manager would you choose to ride? Today, we ask Pat Day. Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen Director of Information Technology Ray Villa NYSGC PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE LASIX DEBATE 6 [email protected] Monday’s New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Bookkeeper meeting generated a trio of Thoroughbred rule passages, but Terry May discussion among board members also signaled that the [email protected] NYSGC is beginning to formulate what a near-future Lasix WORLDWIDE INFORMATION phase-out rule might look like in the state. International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 9 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • APRIL 30, 2019 Bellafina Morning-Line Oaks Favorite And we have knocked, I think we=ve been second, second, third, fourth, fourth, so we have our eye on it.@ (cont. from p1) Three other Grade I winners are in the field of 14, headed by AThere is a lot of speed in the race, but sometimes you read all D.J. Stable and Cash is King=s Jaywalk (Cross Traffic). Last year=s the speed and no one goes,@ Wilkes continued. ASo if they don=t champion 2-year-old filly is go, we can lay closer, if they go, listed at 8-1 on the morning line we can lay back.@ and she will break from post Wilkes said he was happy with position seven--the same post how his charge is coming into from which she won the Friday=s race. GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile Fillies AThis filly is just getting better,@ at Churchill last November. But he said. AWith more racing, she is the gray will need to rebound getting better and better and her from a fourth-place effort in the training coming into this race has Mar. 2 GII Davona Dale S. and a just been spot on. She has to third-place finish in the Ashland. improve off that last race--this is a AThe fact that she won here good field. If she doesn=t, she last year tells me she obviously can=t win. But I think she has has talent. We just have to see improved.@ the progression as a Restless Rider, a narrowly 3-year-old,@ trainer John Servis beaten second in the Apr. 6 Restless Rider at Churchill last week | Coady Photography said. AAll these other GI Central Bank Ashland S., 3-year-olds have gotten bigger and stronger, and she really worked four furlongs in :49.60 (23/40) at Churchill Monday. hasn=t. But that=s her makeup.@ AWinning this race would be a big deal,@ the filly=s trainer Ken McPeek said. AIt=s certainly a race anyone would want to win. Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 9 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • APRIL 30, 2019 Jack Van Berg won the GI Kentucky Derby with Alysheba in AWe=ve been training her for about a month and a half to relax 1987 and Tom VanBerg, son of the late Hall of Fame trainer, will and come from off the pace,@ Van Berg said. AIn both races, she try to win the Oaks with 15-1 outsider Motion Emotion (Take just broke so sharply that she inherited the lead and then got Charge Indy). The speedy filly, who will break from post eight, pushed early. So she can go to the front if she needs to, but set the pace before settling for second in both the Mar. 9 there is quite a lot of speed, so she can sit off the pace if she GIII Honeybee S. and Apr. 12 GIII Fantasy S., but Van Berg needs to. I=ve never wavered in my confidence in her. She does doesn=t think his charge needs to be on the lead. everything right. It was just unfortunate that the speed got to her a couple of times.@ Debby Oxley=s Chocolate Kisses (Candy Ride {Arg}), 20-1, breaks from post two in the Oaks. The filly overtook Motion Emotion late to win the Honeybee, but was a distant sixth in the Ashland last time out. AI kind of messed that one up,@ trainer Mark Casse said of the Ashland. AShe was successful coming from way out of it, but we just felt like Keeneland was so biased to speed, I asked Tyler [Gaffalione] to keep her closer and it was a mistake. We=re not going to do that again. There looks like some serious speed [in the Oaks], but every time you say that, something happens and it is the slowest pace. We=re hoping everyone plays to their form and there is a big speed duel and we can come running.@ Casse is happy with how Chocolate Kisses is coming into the Oaks, including a four-furlong work in :48 flat (11/79) Saturday. Motion Emotion | Coady Cont. p5 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 9 • THETDN.COM TUESDAY • APRIL 30, 2019 AThis filly loves Churchill Downs and she probably trained as The Florida Derby runner-up worked five furlongs at good as I=ve ever seen her train [Monday] morning.