Pimlico notes: Pair of talented, but lightly raced, fillies meet in Black-Eyed Susan
Courtesy: DRF
Two fillies who were considered potential major players in the Kentucky Oaks – Mamma Kimbo and In Lingerie – but instead bypassed the race will be the favorites in the Black-Eyed Susan on the Friday undercard. Last year, the 1 1/8-mile race was won by the eventual 3-year-old filly champion, Royal Delta.
In Lingerie is one of two fillies in the nine-horse field trained by Todd Pletcher, with Disposablepleasure the other. In Lingerie was an impressive winner of the Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park last out.
“We flirted with the idea of the Kentucky Oaks, but we felt like, with a filly that had only three starts, that perhaps this was a better progression for her,” said Pletcher. “She has trained very well.”
Similarly, Mamma Kimbo, trained by Bob Baffert, was withheld from the Oaks partly because of her inexperience (two career starts) and because the May 4 Oaks came up a bit quick following her victory in the April 11 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
The Black-Eyed Susan (race 10) is a big part of a day when females – equine and human – will be spotlighted by Pimlico. Most of the undercard races are for fillies and/or mares, while two separate events will focus on female jockeys: the third annual Lady Legends for the Cure goes as race 4, while a female jockey challenge (races 2, 3, 5, 7) with a parimutuel pool also will be offered. Among the riders in for the challenge are Rosie Napravnik, Rosemary Homeister Jr., Emma-Jayne Wilson, and Greta Kuntzweiler.