Escape Clause (Going Commando), a 17-time winner at Western Canadian tracks who made a successful transition to the Southern California circuit this winter, will make her next appearance in the GI Apple Blossom H., owner and trainer Don Schnell told the Oaklawn notes team Wednesday. It will be her first crack at the Grade I level.
“She's been quite a story,” said Schnell, who is based at Turf Paradise in suburban Phoenix. “She knows how to win, but we're taking on some monsters in the Apple Blossom. But she deserves one try there.”
The Manitoba-bred 5-year-old earned her first black-type victory via disqualification in the grassy Kathryn Crosby S. last November and subsequently finished third in the GIII Red Carpet S. The easy winner of the GIII La Canada S. at Santa Anita Jan. 12, the bay exits a 7 1/4-length success in the Mar. 24 Harry Henson S. in which she established a new track record of 1:34 for Sunland's two-turn mile distance.
Schnell said that Escape Clause will van to Oaklawn Sunday or Monday and that Tyler Baze, who recently relocated to the Hot Springs oval, will retain the mount.
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