Brown Sends Two West for American Oaks

A winner of five Breeders' Cup events over the Santa Anita Park turf, trainer Chad Brown should be a significant factor in the $400,000 American Oaks (gr. IT) May 30 on the Southern California grass course.



Although the New York-based conditioner originally had three runners entered in the American Oaks, he elected to keep Strict Compliance on the East Coast to run in the $150,000 Penn Oaks at Penn National Race Course on the same day.



Consumer Credit and Mrs McDougal remain for the 1 1/4-mile turf test, however, with the former being one of three graded winners in the six-filly field.



"She's been a very consistent horse for us," Brown said of Consumer Credit, a daughter of More Than Ready   who has won four of her last five races including the Sweetest Chant Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 24 and the Memories of Silver Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack April 23. "She's a very versatile runner, but distance is the real question mark. The fact that she's a graded winner, it's time to try a grade I."

NOVAK: Consumer Credit Captures Sweetest Chant



Brown also likes the filly's ability to ship and handle different types of turf surfaces. Her run at Santa Anita will be her sixth different racetrack in as many races. Brown has a history of capturing grade I races at the Southern California track, where he won three Breeders' Cup turf races in 2014 (the Filly and Mare Turf, Turf Sprint, and Juvenile Fillies Turf, all grade I).



"You'd rather run out of your own barn and not fly across the country, but we've done well shipping over there," Brown said.



Consumer Credit, owned by Brous Stable, Gary Barber, and Wachtel Stable, will break from the outside with jockey Flavien Prat. Just to her inside will be stablemate Mrs McDougal, owned by Mr. and Mrs. William Warren, Jr.



Brown was encouraged by a 7 1/4-length gate-to-wire allowance victory at Aqueduct by the daughter of Medaglia d'Oro  , who only has three career starts.



"It's not really in my nature to jump out of an allowance race into a grade I, but she's been a horse that's always shown a lot of ability," Brown said. "She's bred to get the distance and she's a physically tall, strong, and imposing filly, who you'd think could step up and handle it."



Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Feathered will also make the trip west for trainer Todd Pletcher after winning her turf debut in the Edgewood Stakes (gr. IIIT) May 1 at Churchill Downs.

MITCHELL: Feathered Goes Wire to Wire in Edgewood

The likely favorite of the bunch might be the only entrant with a victory over the Santa Anita grass, Richard Baltas trainee Spanish Queen.



The daughter of Tribal Rule owned by breeders Harry Bederian, Harout Kamberian, and Hagop Nakkashian won the Honeymoon Stakes (gr. IIT) last time out May 3 and was only a neck back in the Providencia (gr. IIIT) April 4, only the second race of her career. She won her debut by 5 3/4 lengths in a mile maiden special weight turf event in March.

BALAN: Spanish Queen Unmatched in Honeymoon Victory



"She broke her maiden very impressively the first time and we were very high on her," Baltas said. "It's just one more step up. They're all taking a step up, though."



Rounding out the field is W. C. Racing's stakes-placed Sharla Rae, who was second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Spanish Queen in the Honeymoon, and Sante Cellars Racing Club's Dating Lady Luck, who broke her maiden at third asking last time out at Keeneland April 23.