Lady Eli stays on schedule

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Despite nearly 24 hours of steady rain in the local area that all but shut down training here for the last two mornings, Lady Eli was still able to stick to her regular weekly work schedule, breezing five furlongs over the Oklahoma turf course in 1:01.64 on Monday. She was one of four horses trainer Chad Brown breezed over a turf course officially labeled “good” on Monday.

Working in company with Sea Calisi, who is heading to the Grade 1 Beverly D. at Arlington off her second-place finish in the Long Island, Lady Eli posted splits of 25.15 and 37.14 seconds for her opening three-eighths before finishing with good energy, going very easily inside her workmate. The team galloped out six furlongs in 1:16.04.

The work was the fifth in the last 29 days for the undefeated Lady Eli, who has not raced since suffering a case of laminitis shortly after her victory in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks last summer.

“This is the third week in a row she has really worked well, and she doesn’t even really care for soft ground,” Brown said. “This was her second five-eighths. She stayed right with Sea Calisi, who’ll probably be the favorite in the Beverly D. That’s how good she’s going.”

Brown said he had no problem working Lady Eli and three other fillies over the Oklahoma turf course despite all the rain Sunday and into Monday morning.

“The turf course is in really good shape, and it could use some water, so I was fine with it,” he said.

Brown said his objective for Lady Eli remains the Ballston Spa on Aug. 27.

Brown also worked the team of Beach Patrol and Wake Forest, who went five furlongs in 1:02.22. Other turf workers on Monday included De La Rose nominees Akatea, four furlongs in 49.31 for trainer Christophe Clement, and My Sweet Girl, four furlongs in 49.28 for Barclay Tagg. Ectot, who scratched out of an allowance race Sunday, worked four furlongs in 49.78 for trainer Todd Pletcher.