Obvious horse has one kink

MIAMI - When it comes to five-furlong turf specialists, it doesn't get any better than Whenthedoveflies, who will be heavily favored to defeat nine rivals in Thursday's five-furlong My Melanie Stakes at Calder. The $40,000 My Melanie, an overnight stakes, will be decided under allowance conditions on the grass.

has captured 10 of her 13 starts going five furlongs on the grass. Of her three losses, two came against males, and the third came over a boggy course at Keeneland, in the Clark County Stakes during the fall of 2004. Other than that, Whenthedoveflies has been perfect at her specialty, with a resume that includes a win over males in the 2004 Calder Turf Sprint Handicap and a course-record performance in the Cool Air Stakes here earlier that spring when she covered five furlongs in 54.78 seconds.

The key question coming into the My Melanie is whether Whenthedoveflies is as sharp now as she has been in the past. A 5-year-old daughter of Dove Hunt, Whenthedoveflies has not started since rallying to a victory over Melody of Colors in Monmouth Park's Klassy Briefcase Stakes on July 30.

"She loves to run fresh, so I'm looking for a big race out of her," said Kirk Ziadie. "There really wasn't anything for her after that last race at Monmouth. The only other five-furlong turf race came off the grass, so we just gave her some time off to freshen her up."

Whenthedoveflies rallied from farther back than usual in the Klassy Briefcase, but Ziadie said he doesn't think that will be the case in the My Melanie.

"As sharp as she is now, she'll probably drag Jose up near the lead," said Ziadie, referring to Whenthe-doveflies's regular rider, Jose Lezcano.

Whenthedoveflies will have to be at her best to add the My Melanie to her long list of stakes wins. She will go up against a group that includes not only Melody of Colors but Kentucky invaders , local turf stakes winner Mertie M., and the Brazilian-bred Givememore.

finished full of run to just miss upsetting Whenthedoveflies in the Klassy Briefcase. The effort was her best this season, but she is still winless in seven tries in 2005.

could be a sleeper. A multiple group winner in her native Brazil at 3, she won an overnight stakes making her U.S. debut here last winter and was not badly beaten by Cloakof Vagueness and recent local overnight stakes winner My Lordship in a division of the De La Rose Stakes this summer at Saratoga.