Oaks, Eight Belles Runners Converge in Acorn

Five of the six runners in Saturday's prestigious GI Acorn S. at Belmont were last seen competing on the GI Kentucky Oaks card Apr. 30 at Churchill, and now they'll all run together. Busher Invitational S. and GIII Gazelle S. heroine Search Results (Flatter) missed by just a neck last time in the Oaks after a hard-fought battle with unbeaten Malathaat (Curlin).

“It's five weeks and [after the Kentucky Oaks] I said I'm going to point to the race under no pressure to run and [owner Seth] Klarman was fine with whatever I wanted to do,” trainer Chad Brown said. “She's come back and worked really well. I've been doing this long enough to know that even if they work well, you're going to find out how they're really doing at the quarter-pole and how much the last race did or didn't affect them. I just can't pass on a race where she would be favorite in a Grade I and she's training this well. I am looking at the five weeks wishing I had a little more time for my own comfort, knowing what a hard stretch duel it was, but she's doing well.”

Also exiting the Oaks is 'TDN Rising Star' Travel Column (Frosted). The GII Fair Grounds Oaks heroine could relish this one-turn mile configuration after setting the pace and fading to fifth at Churchill. Her sire turned in a powerhouse performance here give years ago when dominating the GI Met Mile by 14 1/4 lengths, good for a 123 Beyer Speed Figure.

The top three finishers from the GII Eight Belles S.–Obligatory (Curlin), Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) and Make Mischief  (Into Mischief)–are also signed on. Obligatory was coming off a fourth-place run in the Fair Grounds Oaks when she belied 16-1 odds in the Eight Belles. The Juddmonte homebred went last to first that day after favored Dayoutoftheoffice chased hot splits. Dayoutoftheoffice took last year's GI Frizette S. over this strip last October before finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

“She's doing great and coming in perfect,” Dayoutoftheofffice's conditioner Tim Hamm said. “We worked her on Sunday morning (four furlongs at Thistledown in :49 flat {4/13}) and she went just as prescribed, doing exactly what we wanted. We are confident, but when you get to this level of racing, you need a good trip. She's coming into the race in good shape.”