Churchill Downs: Try-again time for two Oaks fillies

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At respective odds of 63-1 and 68-1 in the Kentucky Oaks, Street Storm and Suave Voir Faire ran to expectations, which weren't much. Still, everyone involved had a good time, and more importantly, the fillies survived to fight another day.

Street Storm was eighth and Suave Voir Faire was ninth behind the victorious Plum Pretty in the May 6 Oaks, and they will make their next starts in back-to-back races Thursday at Churchill Downs.

Street Storm, a gray filly trained by Steve Margolis, will make her first start against older mares in the seventh race, a $57,900, second-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Some 30 minutes later, Suave Voir Faire will resurface for trainer Speedy Smithwick, also facing her elders for the first time in a $55,200, first-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

Street Storm is owned by a partnership known as Right Time Racing LLC, and despite the drubbing she took in the Oaks, "we all really enjoyed the day," said Margolis.

"She didn't get beat [nearly 15 lengths] for a lack of trying," said Margolis. "At the end of the day, you have to say she was a little overmatched, but the experience was a fun one for all the partners. She bounced back out of the race good, and although we thought about trying her next on grass, her works are better on dirt, and her form is better, so we settled on this spot for her."

Street Storm will have Shaun Bridgmohan aboard when she breaks from the outside post in a well-matched field of seven that also has Shameless, Differentiate, Heavenly Landing, and Secret File as bona fide contenders.

Smithwick, who co-owns Suave Voir Faire with a group of Louisville-area businessmen known as Fleur de Lis Racing LLC, concurred with Margolis in saying the decision to run in the Oaks may have been a stretch, but a harmless one at that.

"All the guys really enjoyed it," Smithwick said earlier this week from northern Virginia, where he was visiting his ailing mother. "I thought she didn't run quite her race in the Oaks. She seemed to slip a little bit about the three-eighths pole and never made the run she normally puts in. But she came back fine from all that."

Smithwick added that Suave Voir Faire "ran a really good race as a 2-year-old on the grass at Keeneland, even though she was still a bit green, so we thought we'd move in that direction. She's also run well on the Polytrack, so this race could tell us what to do with her for the rest of the summer."

Suave Voir Fair will have Miguel Mena aboard when she starts from post 8 in the eighth of nine races Thursday. Nine are entered, but the outside horse, Lady Lindy, will run only if the race has to be transferred to the main track. Silk Route, with Jesus Castanon riding for Juddmonte Farms and trainer Bill Mott, looks like a deserving favorite.

There are no jackpot carryovers from Sunday, when single winning tickets were sold in both the $2 pick six ($62,782) and $1 super high five ($8,153).

First post Thursday is 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The four-day race week unfolds with a night program on Friday and the rich Stephen Foster card on Saturday.