My Miss Lilly works for Kentucky Oaks

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – My Miss Lilly stepped up her preparation for the Kentucky Oaks by working four furlongs in 49.65 seconds Wednesday over the Belmont Park training track.

My Miss Lilly worked in company with Inalienable Rights, a stakes-placed 3-year-old gelding. It was the first work for My Miss Lilly since she won the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct on April 7 to punch her ticket to the Oaks, set for May 4 at Churchill Downs.

“I didn’t want her go in 52 by herself, and I figured I’d put something inside of her, give her something to focus on,” trainer Mark Hennig said.

My Miss Lilly is scheduled to ship to Churchill Downs on Sunday and will have one workout over the track before the Oaks, likely on April 26 or 27.

“It’s not a long time between races,” Hennig said. “She’s not a big, heavy horse. She’s more leggy than heavy. It’s just a matter of keeping her sharp.”

My Miss Lilly, a daughter of Tapit, has won 2 of 4 starts, with third-place finishes in the Forward Gal at Gulfstream in February and the Busher on March 3.

Joe Bravo rides My Miss Lilly in the Oaks.

Hennig said that Strike Power, the winner of the Grade 3 Swale at Gulfstream, returned to New York on Monday and had his first morning gallop Wednesday. Strike Power, who finished eighth of nine in the Florida Derby on March 31, will point to the Grade 2 Woody Stephens, a seven-furlong race at Belmont on June 9.

“He bounced out of that debacle pretty well,” Hennig said. “He took a lot less time to get over it than I did.”