NEW ORLEANS – Tom Amoss sought transparency in the week leading to the Grade 2, $200,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes. Serengeti Empress, Amoss’s and owner Joel Politi’s entry in the race, had only three published works since returning to Amoss’s barn in late December following a post-Breeders’ Cup break in Florida. Serengeti Empress, Amoss said, would be better next month in the Fair Grounds Oaks than she would be in the Rachel Alexandra. “Can I take that back?” Amoss wondered, speaking from the winner’s circle after Serengeti Empress led all the way in a decisive win over Liora in Saturday’s Rachel Alexandra. As well as Serengeti Empress performed in her comeback start, winning by 4 1/2 lengths while running 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.74, good for a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure, she might not need to improve to win the Fair Grounds Oaks. Amoss is as sensitive as anyone to the effect a strong post-layoff showing can have on a young horse, and he wonders how much better the filly could possibly run next month. But he did say Sunday that Serengeti Empress, from all outward signs, had taken her race well and didn’t appear especially tired. “She’s not knocked out at all,” said Amoss, who won the 2018 Fair Grounds Oaks with Chocolate Martini. With James Graham riding for the first time, Serengeti Empress scooted quickly to the lead and had already dictated tempo into the clubhouse turn. When the first quarter-mile split popped up in a moderate 24.02 seconds, Amoss, the limited work pattern aside, started feeling confident – and why wouldn’t he? The three times Serengeti Empress shook loose on the lead as a 2-year-old she won easily; off the pace, she has struggled to do much running at all. Limited tactical options could impact future performance, but Serengeti Empress showed she’d wintered well and that her aggressive style can be every effective. Amoss’s other layoff runner Saturday, Lone Sailor, has the opposite pace dependence, and his late-running style ran smack into a speed-free edition of the Mineshaft Handicap. Lone Sailor never made a mark on the race, checking in sixth, and Amoss said that since owner GMB Racing’s Tom’s d’Etat is aimed toward the New Orleans Handicap, that race was likely off the table for Lone Sailor.