Kentucky Oaks runner-up Daddys Lil Darling might run next in England

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Daddys Lil Darling, the runner-up in the Kentucky Oaks last Friday at Churchill Downs for the Normandy Farm of Nancy Polk, could make her next start in the Group 1 Investec Oaks on June 2 at Epsom Downs in England, trainer Ken McPeek said Wednesday from Keeneland.

McPeek said the final decision on whether to ship to Epsom Downs for the 1 1/2-mile turf race still has to be made by Polk, “but I’d like to give this a try.”

“It’s outside the box, I know, but I’m fine with that,” he said.

Daddys Lil Darling closed stoutly at 12-1 to be second by 1 1/2 lengths behind Abel Tasman in the 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Oaks, marking her third runner-up finish in a Grade 1 event. The others came in the Alcibiades and Ashland, both at Keeneland.

“Obviously, if we can win a Grade 1 with her, it increases her residual value as a broodmare considerably,” said McPeek. “Until a little later in the year, there just aren’t any opportunities for 3-year-old fillies in a Grade 1 other than the Acorn, but that race doesn’t make much sense for us.”

Daddys Lil Darling, by Scat Daddy, has raced just once on turf, finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs under Robby Albarado in her first start this year.

“She handled it fine, but we kind of took her out of her game that day by keeping her closer to the pace than she likes,” said McPeek. “I’m not worried about her handling the grass. Robby said she did just fine. She’s got the right pedigree for it, and she can run all day. The distance would be right up her alley.”

Daddys Lil Darling is now stabled at McPeek’s Magdalena Farm in Lexington, Ky., where some of her daily training will come over rolling hills.

“The other fillies won’t have a home-course advantage over her because none of them will have run over it either,” he said. “She’s not a bleeder, so that’s not a concern. The timing is ideal, too, with exactly four weeks between races.”

McPeek said that if given the go-ahead, Daddys Lil Darling would be flown to England on May 22.