Paradise Woods puts in easy half-mile for Kentucky Oaks

ARCADIA, Calif. – Paradise Woods continues to do everything easily. On Friday, she worked an effortless half-mile, her first breeze since taking the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks by 11 3/4 lengths on April 8 in her third career start.

Regular rider Flavien Prat worked Paradise Woods minutes before 8 a.m. on a warm Friday at Santa Anita. Trainer Richard Mandella did not expect her to work fast; she went in 47.60 seconds by herself, with minimal encouragement.

“You could see it was pretty easy, real nice,” Mandella said.

Paradise Woods is expected to vie for favoritism May 5 in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. She will have one more workout at Santa Anita before shipping to Kentucky. Mandella said she will work five-eighths or three-quarters on April 27 or 28. She will ship on May 1.

“She’s already had her races, so I don’t need to put a lot of long-distance [work] in her,” Mandella said.

Paradise Woods, 2 for 3, earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure in the Santa Anita Oaks, the highest two-turn figure by a 3-year-old filly on dirt since 2013. Dreaming of Julia earned a 114 Beyer in winning the Gulfstream Park Oaks by more than 21 lengths, followed by a fourth-place finish as the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks.