Indian Blessing Might Miss Kentucky Oaks After First Loss At Fair Grounds Oaks

2008 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park

The 2008 Breeders' Cup, thoroughbred racing's most prestigious event, consisting of 14 Breeders' Cup races and $25.5 million in purses, will be held on October 24-25, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

Posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008

After Indian Blessing suffered her first defeat yesterday in the Fair Grounds Oaks, horse trainer Bob Baffert said last year’s 2-year-old filly champion would receive a break and possibly miss the Kentucky Oaks on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

“I think I might just freshen her up,” Bob Baffert said Sunday morning at Santa Anita. “I donâ€™t know about the Kentucky Oaks. I might not run her.

“We learned something in the Fair Grounds Oaks,” Bob Baffert continued. “Garrett (Gomez) tried to get her to slow down, but she was fighting him. We realized that you’ve got to just let her go or she’s not going to give you that extra kick. We learned that. (But) she’s just fast. Her weapon is to run ‘em off their feet and just separate herself and let them come get her.

“Yesterday, they stayed close to us; that was good tactics on their part (trainer Larry Jones, who saddled winner Proud Spell, ridden by Gabriel Saez). They’re two really good fillies.”

Proud Spell won by 2 1/4 lengths over Indian Blessing, the 3-10 favorite in the 1 1/16 mile race. Acacia and Wisconsin Lady were third and fourth.

Horse trainer Bob Baffert said Indian Blessing was due back in California this week.

www.santaanita.com

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"Indian Blessing Might Miss Kentucky Oaks After First Loss At Fair Grounds Oaks" was posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Fair Grounds, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Santa Anita Track, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.