Shiny Prize gets her chance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Even if Shiny Prize were to win the feature race by an absurd number of lengths Wednesday at Churchill Downs, she probably would not be able to top the thrills that her little brother gave to Fred and William "Buff" Bradley and their families last weekend.

, one of 10 fillies and mares entered in the ninth of 10 races, is a 4-year-old filly by Prized out of Brassy. That same mating produced Brass Hat, the 3-year-old gelding who on Saturday scored a three-length win at 22-1 in the $350,000 Ohio Derby, a Grade 2 race that had the Bradleys of Frankfort, Ky., going wild.

"My wife and kids and all my barn and farm staff were over at our house, watching the Ohio Derby on TV and having a party," said Buff Bradley, who trains Brass Hat and Shiny Prize for his father, Fred. "They thought the house was going to come down."

Buff Bradley said he used a treasured keepsake when traveling to Thistledown for the Ohio Derby, which his father also attended. On Brass Hat's stall, Bradley used a webbing with the letter 'P,' a holdover from his five years of working for Clarence Picou, the late, longtime Midwest trainer who died in 1998.

"I use it whenever I ship somewhere different so that people will ask, 'What's the 'P' for, and I tell them,'" said Bradley, 40. "Clarence had a lot of influence on my career."

Fred Bradley owned Brassy before selling her several years ago. Brass Hat was her last foal for him, although the mare has a 2-year-old filly, also by Prized, that Buff Bradley said he might wind up training, too.

As for Shiny Prize, who has one win from five career starts, she "didn't run well last time because it was an off track," said Bradley. "She really takes to grass." Sure enough, the Wednesday feature, an entry-level, $49,100 allowance, is scheduled for a mile on turf.

Calvin Borel, who has ridden Shiny Prize in her last three starts, "came back last time and said, 'Don't worry, just get back on the grass and we'll be fine,' " said Bradley, who has 16 horses in training at Louisville Trackside and several more on his father's farm.

Besides Shiny Prize, the main contenders in the Wednesday feature appear to be Wildcat Queen, Wear, Freei, and Bella Bianca.

One other allowance (race 4) also is carded Wednesday. First post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern.