Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is a fan of Kentucky Oaks favorite Paradise Woods after she soundly beat a horse of his.
And the Hall of Fame trainer likes what he sees in Paradise Woods. All he had to do was watch her run away from his Abel Tasman in the Santa Anita Oaks.
"Paradise Woods is an extremely talented filly," said Baffert, who trained 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh. "I watched her school the other day at Santa Anita and, wow, she's imposing. She's really, really special."
She is the 5-2 favorite for today's $1 million Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs (noon, 5 p.m., NBCSN) on the day before the Kentucky Derby.
She has had back-to-back runaway victories, including an 11-length romp in the Santa Anita Oaks. The daughter of Union Rags was also second in her debut at the California track. Paradise Woods will start from the No. 4 post position in the 14-horse field.
Rain forecast: Rain pelted Churchill Downs on Thursday at the start of an expected a three-day stretch of wet weather leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The outlook for the Kentucky Oaks wasn't encouraging, with a 60 percent chance of rain forecast. But though showers are forecast for Saturday morning, the storm could move out before the Derby's scheduled post time of 6:46 p.m. (6:30, NBC).
Triple shot: Steve Asmussen, 51, has accomplished just about every goal for a trainer in the course of his Hall of Fame career, with one notable exception: a victory in the Kentucky Derby. He has three shots Saturday: Hence (15-1 odds), Lookin At Lee (20-1) and Untrapped (30-1).
