Following impressive win, Pretty Birdie will try Eight Belles Stakes
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Pretty Birdie put up the year’s highest Beyer Speed Figure for a 3-year-old filly on Saturday, when she earned a 95 for her victory in the $150,000 Purple Martin at Oaklawn Park.
Pretty Birdie set the pace and went on to cover six furlongs in 1:09.01. She won by 2 3/4 lengths in what was her second stakes victory behind last year’s Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga.
“She came back very well,” trainer Norm Casse said Monday. “We’re going to aim for the Eight Belles on Oaks Day at Churchill.”
The Grade 2, $500,000 Eight Belles is for 3-year-old fillies and will be run at seven furlongs May 6.
Pretty Birdie set a controlled pace in the Purple Martin. The start came off a fifth-place finish in the Dixie Belle at Oaklawn.
“We kind of figured out some things about her going into the Purple Martin,” Casse said, “and we worked on teaching her to relax a little bit more than what we’d been doing.”
Casse trains Pretty Birdie, a daughter of Bird Song, for Marylou Whitney Stables. He said he’s excited about Pretty Birdie’s future.
“She’s super fast, she’s super talented, and she has tremendous upside,” he said.
Casse is stabled at Oaklawn for the first time. During the spring and summer, he will be based at Churchill.
“We’ve been happy with Oaklawn,” he said. “It’s a nice place to winter, and we’re looking forward to coming back.”