Breen dressed for Miss Sky Warrior's success

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As good as his horses look, Kelly Breen tries to outdo them. The 47-year-old trainer will have Miss Sky Warrior as one of the favorites in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, when many of the 100,000-plus racing fans will be dressed to impress amid the traditional “Pink Out” theme.

Breen is known for a sartorial splendor rarely undertaken by Thoroughbred trainers, with a natty fedora the unfailing final complement to a stylish outfit.

“I’ve picked out what I’m wearing Oaks Day,” he said this week at Churchill. “All but the hat. I’m probably going to have to go out and find one to match what I’m wearing.”

All that aside, a career-best performance from Miss Sky Warrior is far more important to Breen than how her trainer looks. A longtime leading conditioner on his home circuit of New Jersey, he is obsessive about his horses.

“We came here to win,” he said.

Miss Sky Warrior, a winner of four straight graded stakes entering a terrific renewal of the 1 1/8-mile Oaks, was the only Oaks or Derby hopeful to work here Thursday. She breezed before hard rain started to fall, getting a half-mile in 49.20 seconds over a track that was still fast.