Negligee takes drop after flop

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Negligee was among the elite 2-year-old fillies in North America in 2009, winning the Alcibiades Stakes before finishing a creditable sixth as the third wagering choice in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

But a poor effort in her first and only race at 3, the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes earlier this month at Keeneland, has led trainer John Terranova to ease back a bit. Instead of forging ahead and trying the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday, Negligee will race here Thursday in the $62,000 Edgewood Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

The Edgewood, formerly a graded race on the Oaks undercard, has been relegated to a less prominent slot as the feature of a 10-race Thursday program. Nine 3-year-old fillies are entered in the Edgewood, which goes as race 7.

Terranova said Negligee was "horsing," or cycling into season, when she ran seventh of eight in the Ashland.

"Some fillies have a tough time with that and some don't," said Terranova. "She happened to be in full bloom that day, and it really did affect her. I would've loved to run her back in the Oaks, but we needed to get a good race into her to justify it, and obviously we didn't."

Terranova said Negligee has trained "wonderfully" at Keeneland since the Ashland and that he has elected to remove the small-cup blinkers known as cheaters for the Edgewood, which marks her first start on turf. Negligee, purchased privately last summer by the Sovereign Stable after two promising starts in Canada, has had five races over synthetics to begin her career.

"I'm looking for her to relax, and I don't think she really needed the blinkers much anyway," Terranova said. "We would really like to see her get back on track and regain her confidence with this race Thursday."

Javier Castellano will be aboard Negligee when she breaks from post 2.

Potosina, Midway Holiday, and Dynazaper appear to pose the strongest challengers to Negligee. Potosina, who will break from the rail under John Velazquez, also ran in the Breeders' Cup, finishing seventh in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Three allowances (races 3, 8, and 9) also are on the card.