Shane's Girlfriend, freshened since a fifth-place finish as the favorite in the Feb. 25 GII Rachel Alexandra S. at Fair Grounds, returned in sharp form to annex the GIII Iowa Oaks Thursday night at Prairie Meadows. Sent postward as the 9-5 second choice, the Doug O'Neill trainee broke alertly and was in a bit tight as stretch-out sprinter Swing and Sway (Maclean's Music) crossed over to set the pace through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. Settling patiently as Iowa-bred Chanel's Legacy (Dominus) went on the attack, she angled out turning for home and rallied to score comfortably over longshot Babybluesbdancing, who overhauled the tiring pacesetters to complete the exacta.
Shane's Girlfriend captured her first two starts, including a powerhouse 13 1/4-length triumph in the GIII Delta Princess S. last November. A respectable third behind the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained 'TDN Rising Star' duo of Unique Bella (Tapit) and It Tiz Well (Arch) in the GII Santa Ynez S. in January, she never truly got involved in the Rachel Alexandra and was sent to the sidelines for the spring.
Pedigree Notes:
Shane's Girlfriend's second dam Critical Cat is a half-sister to MGISW Critical Eye (Dynaformer). Her dam Western Tornado produced a filly by Uncaptured in 2016 and was bred back to that sire. Shane's Girlfriend became the first graded stakes winner for her sire with her win in the Delta Princess last term and she remains his only graded winner thus far.
Thursday, Prairie Meadows
IOWA OAKS-GIII, $203,483, PRM, 7-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.94, ft.
1–SHANE'S GIRLFRIEND, 115, f, 3, by Adios Charlie
1st Dam: Western Tornado, by Proud Citizen
2nd Dam: Critical Cat, by Tactical Cat
3rd Dam: Critical Crew, by Dr. Blum
($95,000 2yo '16 OBSOPN). O-ERJ Racing LLC, W.C. Racing Inc.
& Dennis O'Neill; B-Ocala Stud (FL); T-Doug F. O'Neill; J-Kyle
Frey. $119,400. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-1, $418,600. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Babybluesbdancing, 115, f, 3, Sky Mesa–Bluesbdancing, by
Golden Gear. O-Lizabeth Gore; B-RNB Racing LLC (IL); T-Terrel
Gore. $39,800.
3–Jordan's Henny, 118, f, 3, Henny Hughes–Sophiano, by
Rubiano. ($19,000 RNA Ylg '15 FTKOCT). O-Erv Woolsey; B-Erv
Woolsey & Ralph Kinder (KY); T-Michael A. Tomlinson.
$19,900.[bullet ad=”alliance-bloodstock-shell”][bullet ad=”another-bill-murphy-agent-graduate”]Margins: 2 1/4, 1HF, NO. Odds: 1.80, 50.10, 5.40.
Also Ran: Chanel's Legacy, Mo's M V P, Ever So Clever, Natalie's Mischief, Swing and Sway. Scratched: Pinch Hit, Tapa Tapa Tapa.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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