Daria's Angel will get shot at Fair Grounds Oaks

Lacking other appealing options, and with the prospect of a short, shallow field, trainer Bret Calhoun said Thursday that the impressive maiden winner Daria’s Angel is likely to make her next start April 1 in the Fair Grounds Oaks.

Daria’s Angel finished second in a pair of sprint maiden races late last year, made her 3-year-old debut in a two-turn maiden race, and won by eight lengths in a good time, earning an 80 Beyer Speed Figure. Calhoun had hoped to start Daria’s Angel in a first-level allowance, but the race failed to fill.

“My back’s kind of to the door now. If she ran well in the allowance and came back well, we were going to consider the Oaks even though it was going to be a little tight for her,” Calhoun said. “I think she’s worthy of going in this race, but I just wanted one more race for her to prove it.”

The Fair Grounds Oaks will have Farrell as a heavy favorite, and with the talented Jenda’s Agenda entered this weekend at Laurel Park, Valadorna pointed to the Ashland Stakes, and a general lack of depth in the 3-year-old filly crop, Daria’s Angel could make a mark in the local Oaks.

Meanwhile, Calhoun said that the high-class filly sprinter Finley’sluckycharm would be back on the work tab in the next 10 days or so. Second last out in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes, Finley’sluckycharm was diagnosed with a curbed hock following her most recent workout Feb. 2. Calhoun said if all went well, she could make her next start in May at Churchill Downs.

◗ The stakes-winning Louisiana-bred filly Smittys Cougar has been retired to become a broodmare after sustaining an injury in a Fair Grounds turf sprint on March 10, trainer Ron Faucheux said. Smittys Cougar, by Half Ours and out of Smitty’s Sunshine, went 7-4-3 from 16 starts and earned more than $300,000.

◗ The Saturday feature is race 9, a second-level optional $40,000 claimer for fillies and mares going long, but of equal note is race 8, a two-turn dirt maiden race for 3-year-olds. Multiplier came within a neck of the talented Souper Tapit while making his second start following an encouraging debut, but he could be challenged by the Steve Asmussen-trained Bernardini colt Insurgent, who flashed talent last year at 2 and makes his 3-year-old debut Saturday.