Winchell Thoroughbreds' Untapable (Tapit) was the 1-10 favorite when she went postward in her 4-year-old debut in the Mar. 14 GII Azeri S. at Oaklawn Park. Last year's champion 3-year-old filly could manage only second, beaten a half-length by Gold Medal Dancer (Medaglia d'Oro) over a off track that day, but she will get the chance to avenge that loss Friday as the 1-2 morning-line favorite in the GI Apple Blossom H.
“She's doing really well,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of Untapable. “I thought she schooled great [Wednesday]. I think she's trained nicely over the racetrack. Obviously, we're a little concerned with what the weather does today. There is a pretty good chance of rain. It looks like it's inevitable, but I think that the racetrack might be in a little better shape to handle some water now. It was so saturated all of last month.”
Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner, Untapable may not have been fully cranked for her 2015 unveiling, but has been training strongly for this second outing of the campaign. She turned heads with a six-furlong breeze in 1:10.80 at Oaklawn Mar. 30 and she most recently worked a bullet four furlongs Monday in :48.00.
Donnie Von Hemel, who trains Gold Medal Dancer, expects his filly will face a tougher Untapable Friday.
“Untapable's going to be faster this time,” Von Hemel said. “How much do we need to improve to be able to compete with her?”
Gold Medal Dancer set all the pace in the Azeri after the scratch of Sugar Shock (Candy Ride {Arg}). With that foe in the field Friday, she could have company on the front end.
“Sugar Shock adds a little pace to the race, maybe,” Von Hemel said. “It's hard to say what she's going to do, in that regard. She can add pace to the race, if she chooses to.”
Sugar Shock, scratched from the Azeri due to the threat of rain, won the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn last year. She returned from seven months on the sidelines to win the Jan. 24 American Beauty S., but is coming off a well-beaten fourth-place effort in a one-mile allowance Mar. 20.
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