Pipeline Girl has been facing some tough customers

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Pipeline Girl has the look of a promising runner and on Thursday could go favored over a competitive group of 3-year-old fillies in the featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park.

The allowance for non-winners of two races lifetime has a $75,000 claiming option, for which both Impulsus and two-time winner Stanley Market are entered.

Pipeline Girl was a debut winner last June at Churchill Downs and closed out her 2-year-old season at the track in November by finishing third in an allowance won by Girl With a Dream, who would go on to capture the Letellier Memorial at Fair Grounds and the Grade 3 Forward Gal at Gulfstream Park.

Pipeline Girl will be making her second start of the year. She launched her 3-year-old season Feb. 26 at Fair Grounds when second to Matareya in a conditioned allowance sprint. The Beyer Speed Figure of 79 that Pipeline Girl earned is the best last-race number in the Thursday field.

“Pipeline Girl had a good 2-year-old campaign,” said trainer Tom Amoss. “We purposely gave her some time off to let her develop at 3. We were really looking forward to that first race back to her 3-year-old campaign. I know she ran second, but it was to a really nice horse and the favorite that day, and Pipeline Girl chased her the whole way around.”

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Matareya, who was 4-5, wired the field by 5 1/4 lengths and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91. She is now headed to the Grade 3, $400,000 Beaumont on April 10 at Keeneland.

“That’s our plan. She’s a good filly. I like her a lot,” said Brad Cox, who trains Matareya and has two runners in against Pipeline Girl on Thursday.

Pipeline Girl prepped for the trip to Oaklawn with a pair of half-mile drills at Fair Grounds. The race Thursday is something of a homecoming for the filly, even though she is making her first start in Hot Springs.

“Her owner, Jerry Caroom, has a big presence at Oaklawn with his horses,” said Amoss.

Amoss selected Pipeline Girl at auction as a yearling for Caroom, who purchased the daughter of the War Front stallion Air Force Blue for $100,000 at Keeneland in September 2020.

“She’s imposing physically, a very good-looking, attractive filly,” Amoss said. “Mentally, like a lot of young horses, she’s gotten better with racing. She was kind of a more learned horse when she came back this time around.”

Pipeline Girl is out of the Pulpit mare Guide, who has produced a stakes winner of more than $350,000 in The Great War.

Pipeline Girl will break from post 4 under Geovanni Franco.

“She’s tactical,” said Amoss.

Cox will counter with Com’ On Sweet Luv and Icy Stare Down. Com’ On Sweet Luv was third in the Letellier Memorial in December before running fourth last out in the same Fair Grounds race as Pipeline Girl. Ricardo Santana Jr. has the mount from post 2.

Icy Stare Down has made her last two starts at Oaklawn. She won a maiden special weight Dec. 18, then was third in an allowance Feb. 26. Florent Geroux has the mount from post 7.