GI Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria (Majesticperfecition) and stablemate and third-place finisher I'm a Chatterbox (Munnings) left the Twin Spires for Keeneland Friday night and have been doing well since, according to trainer Larry Jones.
“We started loading up the van about 9 o'clock and left about 9:30,” three-time Kentucky Oaks-winning trainer Larry Jones said. “They made the trip over no problem. They ate all their feed and they acted like they'd done something to get hungry. Everything's apparently fine this morning. It's nice and quiet at Keeneland–nobody's milling around. They're getting their rest and all's well.”
As for future plans, Jones is still unsure for his duo.
“I really do not have a clue,” Jones said. “We're headed to Delaware with everything. We'll make up our minds–there, New York is close, there are a lot of spots to run from there–but we don't have anything in mind because we were targeting this.”
Longshot runner-up 'TDN Rising Star' Shook Up (Tapit) also seems to have exited the race in fine form. The Regis Racing colorbearer pleased her trainer Steve Asmussen with her effort. “She ran well,” the conditioner said. “Obviously, we felt she was set up for a big race, and she gave us one. I think that we need to give it the respect that it deserves, try to keep an open mind when she goes back to training. It obviously puts her in the upper echelon of 3-year-old fillies. And we will try to take advantage of that, because there are some very good races left this year. The [GII] Black-Eyed Susan [May 15] is too quick back for her off of such a big race.”
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