Fair Grounds Oaks

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Impressive Grade 2 heroine RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d’Oro) is the top draw
in Saturday’s $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), and the in-form looks unbeatable
if she runs her race. Conditioned by Hal Wiggins, the Kentucky-bred concluded
her freshman campaign with an easy tally in the Golden Rod S. (G2) and picked up
this season right where she left off, evidenced by her eight-length romp in the
Martha Washington S. Calvin Borel retains the mount.

FOUR GIFTS (Even the Score) ran a winning race while second in the
Silverbulletday S. (G3) over this strip and is the most logical upsetter in here
if our top pick falters. A clear heroine of the Delta Princess S. (G3) three
prior, the consistent gray has yet to be worse than third in four dirt outings
and ranks a clear second in BRIS Prime Power (139.3).

AFRICAN SKIES (GB) (Johannesburg) will make her dirt debut in this affair for
Patrick Biancone. The Group 3 victress contested the pace in the Las Virgenes S.
(G1) before tiring in her U.S. debut, and she could be more fit this time
around. We’ll tab the dark bay for the gimmicks beneath Edgar Prado.

OUR DAHLIA (Belong to Me) has won two straight for Ken McPeek, her last on the
weeds, and she’s never been worse than fourth in a quartet of career outings.
The bay sophomore lacks the BRIS Speed figures to threaten the winner, but a
ground saving trip could yield her a placing under Kent Desormeaux.

FLYING SPUR (Giant’s Causeway) didn’t impress much in her stakes debut and would
need to take a big step forward in order to challenge this field late. The
well-bred Bill Mott trainee broke her maiden over this oval while scoring a 101
BRIS Speed number, and she’ll need better than that showing to win today.

WAR TIGRESS (War Chant) is a proven commodity on the lawn and finished more
than 15
lengths behind our second pick in her lone main track appearance. The speedster
looks like a bit of an outsider on the dirt at this caliber.