Pretty Girl Slew knows how to win

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Pretty Girl Slew is stepping up in class for a first-level allowance Thursday at Oaklawn Park, but with nine wins she has a decided experience edge over her rivals.

The six-furlong race for fillies and mares drew a field of eight, including Garden Gloves, a wire-to-wire threat, and Pro Pink, a Grade 3-placed winner who will be making her first start since August.

But none in the field is as battle-tested as Pretty Girl Slew. She has raced 38 times, with her wins coming in dirt sprints. Pretty Girl Slew also has finished second in nine other races. Thursday, she will be making her first start for owner Michael Langford and trainer Randy Morse after being claimed for $12,500 at Oaklawn on Jan. 20. Pretty Girl Slew won that day, and she should go off as one of the top choices in the featured eighth.

"We're trying to get lucky," said Morse. "Most of them in there have just won one race."

Pretty Girl Slew overcame traffic for a neck win last time, which was her fourth victory over the Oaklawn track. She will break from post 3 under apprentice Dylan Williams, and could get a tracking trip behind Garden Gloves.

"The other day she came from off of it," Morse said of Pretty Girl Slew.

Garden Gloves looks like a promising sort. She has faced winners three times since a front-running maiden special weight score last October, and turned in perhaps the best race of her career last out when she ran second to the impressive Ginger Bay in a first-level allowance at Oaklawn on Jan. 21.

Garden Gloves raced close to a strong pace that day before finishing 5 3/4 lengths back. The six-furlong race went in a quick 1:10, and Garden Gloves earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 77, which is the co-highest last-race number in the field Thursday. She shares the top Beyer Figure with Princess Bianconi, who closed for third against Ginger Bay.

Perry Compton has the mount on Garden Gloves for trainer Tim Padilla, while Richard Monterrey will ride Princess Bianconi for trainer Lynn Chleborad.

Pro Pink, who as a 2-year-old placed in the Grade 3 Kentucky Breeders' Cup, will make her 4-year-old debut Thursday. In her last start she was fourth in a $75,000 optional claiming race at Saratoga. Kissit, trained by Dee Poulos, ranks as the second-winningest horse in the field with two victories, and is a leading contender.