Ami Please returning to U.S. from Dubai
Ami Please, second and third in two stakes in Dubai this winter, is scheduled to return to the United States later this month with the hope she can gain a berth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.
Trainer Doug O’Neill said Wednesday that Ami Please is scheduled to be sent to his Kentucky division in the final days of March. There is a possibility Ami Please will have a prep race in early April for the Kentucky Oaks.
As of Wednesday, Ami Please ranked 14th on the list of candidates for the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-old fillies with 20 qualifying points. The race will have a maximum of 14 runners.
Ami Please may need more points to secure a berth. One opportunity could be the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland on April 7, which is worth 100-40-30-20 and 10 points to the first five finishers.
“I know we’ve nominated,” O’Neill said. That could be an option.
“I think our dream goal is the Kentucky Oaks. We’ll see how she makes it back from Dubai. Most of them make it back okay.”
Owned by WC Racing and Wonderland Racing, Ami Please was second in the Group 3 United Arab Emirates Oaks at 1 3/16 miles for 3-year-old fillies at Meydan Racecourse on Feb. 17 and third by three lengths against males in the $170,400 Al Bastakiya Stakes at the same distance at Meydan on March 4.
Ami Please, who was second and third in one-mile turf stakes in California last year, earned 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks with her second in the UAE Oaks.
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