Russell taking wait-and-see approach to Kentucky Oaks with Dazzling Dame
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Trainer Brittany Russell was left with a deepened respect for Dazzling Dame when the front-running filly held second in the $250,000 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs last Saturday. She might not have been a match for Bob Baffert-trained filly Bottle of Rouge, but the local talent still has sky-high prospects early in her 3-year-old campaign.
“She was rolling,” Russell said. “From the rail there, I think it's a little bit of a tough thing out of the chute, right? I told [jockey Jevian Toledo] that's how she wants to run. She's a free-running horse and you don't want to be schooling them in the Virginia Oaks. He got her out there and she was running comfortable the whole way.”
After racking up two stakes victories as a juvenile, Dazzling Dame made an explosive 3-year-old debut on Jan. 3, shipping to Aqueduct to win the $150,000 Busanda by 11 1/2 lengths. The victory put her on the map for the Kentucky Oaks, giving her 20 qualifying points toward the race at Churchill Downs.
Russell did not give her filly another start before the Virginia Oaks, bringing her back off a 10-week break to face Bottle of Rouge. The early leader set brisk opening fractions and led around the far turn before ceding to her Baffert-trained rival by 4 1/4 lengths.
With 40.75 total points, Dazzling Dame is currently seventh on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard, though other fillies will likely pass her in other preps in the coming weeks. If her filly sneaks into the field, Russell said she will take the trip to Churchill Downs, even if the seven-week break between the Virginia Oaks and Kentucky Oaks creates problems.
“I think if she gets in, we're going to head that way,” Russell said. “But with the timing, it’s awkward. If she [had won at Colonial] and we know she's in, no problem. But right now, I think we're just going to see how she comes around.”
If they don’t make it into the Kentucky Oaks field, Russell and Dazzling Dame could still have several strong alternatives this spring, starting at home. Because she is based in Maryland, the trainer can always pivot to the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan at Laurel Park in May, possibly working in another prep in the $150,000 Weber City Miss on April 18 if time allows. The filly earned her maiden victory at Laurel last year and trains nearby at Fair Hill.
In last year’s Weber City Miss, Russell entered both Complexity Jane and Reply, securing a 1-2 finish. This year, the trainer is already pursuing the local stakes path with Peach Tie, the likely favorite in the $100,000 Beyond the Wire at Laurel this Saturday.
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