Indiana Downs: Baffert finds way to back to Oaks with Fiftyshadesofhay

While the venue of the $200,000 Indiana Oaks is different this year, that Bob Baffert has the horse to beat in the Grade 2 race proves that some things never change.

This time around, Baffert’s annual barnstorming of Indiana’s premier card will include Fiftyshadesofhay, who kicks off her fall campaign on Saturday at Indiana Downs.

Fiftyshadesofhay, by Pulpit, will embark on her second sojourn to a Midwestern track for the California-based trainer after winning the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks two starts back on June 29 at Prairie Meadows. Baffert has been successful targeting various “state” derbies and their undercards for years.

“Whenever I ship a horse, I usually bring horses that I feel good about,” Baffert said. “It’s a lot of money, and anytime you put up purses like $500,000 [for the Indiana Derby], you’re going to get good horses there. We call it the dirt road, but the dirt road’s getting tougher every year.”

Fiftyshadesofhay enters the 1 1/16-mile Indiana Oaks off a runner-up finish to probable champion Princess of Sylmar in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes on Aug. 17 at Saratoga. Baffert said he had considered the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes against older rivals at Santa Anita for her follow-up start, but instead decided to seek a softer spot.

Baffert said he was approaching the rest of the filly’s fall campaign on a race-by-race basis, and did not have an immediate target in mind coming out of the Indiana Oaks.

“I don’t know yet,” Baffert said. “I think she’s going to be a filly that’s going to get better with age, so I’ve tried to be very careful with the way I handle her. She’s a filly that still has a lot of maturing to do.”

Martin Garcia will have the mount aboard Fiftyshadesofhay for owners Karl Watson, Michael Pegram, and Paul Weitman.

Baffert admitted that until recently, he had been preparing for a trip to Hoosier Park in Anderson, Ind., which had been the home of the Indiana Derby and Oaks until Thoroughbred racing in the state was moved entirely to Indiana Downs in Shelbyville this year. Hoosier Park now exclusively hosts harness racing.

Baffert had a good run at Hoosier Park, shipping in for the first time with National Saint for the 1999 Indiana Derby. He began making it a regular stop in the late 2000s after winning his first Indiana Derby with Misremembered in 2009. The following year, he swept the derby and Oaks with Lookin At Lucky and Always a Princess, respectively. Baffert will again send one horse to each of Indiana’s two graded stakes this year. He has Power Broker in the derby.

“I really didn’t even know that they moved until a few weeks ago,” Baffert said. “We found out that we were going to ship to a different area and a new track, so it’s all different to us. We had a lot of good luck at Hoosier, and hopefully we’ll continue it at Indiana.”

Fiftyshadesofhay will face seven rivals in the Indiana Oaks, including Grade 1 winner Pure Fun, who will make her first start since a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks.

After winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet last December, the Pure Prize filly finished third in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park, then faced males in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, where she finished out of the money. Ken McPeek trains Pure Fun for his own Magdalena Racing.

Also entered is Grade 2 winner Seaneen Girl, who is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx. In her prior start prior, Seaneen Girl drew away to win the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks by six lengths. Owned by Naveed Chowhan and trained by Bernard Flint, the Spring At Last filly finished second to Fiftyshadesofhay in the Iowa Oaks by 3 1/2 lengths.