Lady Alexander favorably drawn

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Bruce Alexander feels the outside post could be a deciding factor in Lady Alexander's favor on Saturday in the $70,000 Miss Woodford Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Monmouth Park.

Lady Alexander faces six rivals in the six-furlong stakes.

"I wouldn't change places with anybody in the race but we don't tower above anybody, either," Alexander said. "There is not much separating the field. The outside post gives me better options. They usually break better from there and you can choose to sit. The other guys have to find their positions."

As usual, Daniel Centeno will be aboard the filly, 3-1-0 in 4 dirt sprints here, including a 2 3/4-length win most recently in the off-turf Mongo Queen Stakes.

Lady Alexander also ran well here in a lone turf effort, missing by only three-quarters of a length in the Crank It Up Stakes.

She should be sharp, following a bullet workout on Aug. 21, four furlongs in 46.20 seconds. It was the fastest of 25 at the distance

Lady Alexander will need to be on her toes against a field that includes Exe and Noisy Feet, both second-level allowance winners last time out; the speedy Ocean Colors, who set the pace before finishing second in the Mongo Queen; Don'tgetsuspicious, a third-level winner at Philadelphia Park for trainer Scott Lake; Northern Belle, and Koka Kola Kitty.

Few have experience on turf

Only two of 11 runners in the $60,000 Junior Champion Stakes for 2-year-old fillies on the turf have grass experience.

Check the Label got her maiden win going one mile at Colonial Downs while Write When Ready scored her first victory in a sprint at Ellis Park.

For the rest, the one-mile stakes will be an experiment.

Trainer Jim Ryerson hopes Raffie's Rose makes the transition, especially with a possible grass influence through Rahy on the dam's side. She ran sixth in her debut at Monmouth on July 17.

"She was a little green through the stretch," Ryerson said. "It wasn't a terrible race but then she had things her own way the next time."

The follow-up was a statebred maiden sprint at Saratoga on Aug. 6 that produced a pacesetting victory.

"She ran very well," Ryerson said. "In the fall, we hope to go back to New York to run in the statebred races. With the timing of this race and the fact it was on the turf, we can use this to get an idea what she wants to do."

Raffie's Rose breezed here on the turf on Aug. 19, a four-furlong work in 51.00.

"It seemed like she handled it pretty good," Ryerson said. "She's stabled here, so this made sense."