Little Dancer possible for B.C. Oaks

Trainer Doris Harwood said Little Dancer came out of her $27.40 upset win in the $79,250 Washington Oaks last Sunday in excellent shape and is being considered for the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks at Hastings on Sept. 9. She is eligible for the $25,000 bonus that goes to the winner of both races.

“We are certainly looking at coming up there,” said Harwood, who won the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby at Hastings with Winning Machine in 2009.

Harwood wasn’t surprised by Little Dancer’s gutsy win over Daddyalwayssays in the Washington Oaks.

“I have had her since she was a 2-year-old and I’ve always had confidence in her,” she said. “She also had some trouble in her previous race.”

Little Dancer didn’t show much in her only start as a 2-year-old, and she didn’t look like the kind of horse that would win the richest race for 3-year-old fillies at Emerald when she won a $15,000 maiden-claiming race in her first start this year. She came back with a sharp win in a $25,000 optional claimer, though, and then finished with some run after steadying at the half-mile pole in the $50,000 Irish Day Stakes on June 25.

With leading rider Rocco Bowen aboard, she sat just off a slow pace set by Daddyalwayssays in the Oaks. The pair hooked up at the quarter pole and dueled the rest of the way, with Little Dancer gaining the edge in the final yards to win by a half-length.

Harwood came close to not being the trainer of Little Dancer this year. The daughter of Successful Appeal was bred by John and Ivor Jones, who still owned her when she finished sixth in her debut. She was one of the horses they chose to sell when they were cutting back at the end of last year.

“I really didn’t want to lose her, and I was thrilled when Ron Schmid said he would buy her,” said Harwood. “I knew she had some ability, and I guess Sunday’s race proved I was right.”

Trainer Kay Cooper is also considering the B.C. Oaks for Daddyalwayssays, who was stretching out to a middle distance for the first time in the Washington Oaks. She went into the 1 1/8-mile Oaks with just three sprints behind her, the latest being a runner-up finish in a $25,000 optional-claiming race for 3-year-old fillies going 6 1/2 furlongs July 8.

“It would have been nice to get at least one route into her before the Oaks,” said Cooper. “She ran a huge race and we’ll give her some time to come back to herself before we decide where she’s going to run next. The Oaks is far enough away that it is certainly on our radar.”

◗ Maurice Code, trained by Blaine Wright, will be going for the hat trick in a $15,000 conditional claiming race for 3-year-olds which headlines Friday’s seven-race card.