Valadorna Headed to Fair Grounds

14 Hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) runner-up Valadorna will winter in New Orleans at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, according to conditioner Mark Casse.

Bred and owned by Stonestreet Stables, the daughter of Curlin  —Goldfield, by Yes It's True, finished second on racing's biggest weekend after a traffic-filled trip.

"I'm going to have her stay in (Ocala, Fla.) for two or three weeks first," Casse said. "I almost ran her in the (grade II) Golden Rod (Stakes at Churchill Downs), but decided to give her time to rest and focus on next year, especially if she likely wasn't going to win a championship even if she won that race.

"She will go to New Orleans and we'll concentrate on the 3-year-old filly series there. The goal is the (Longines) Kentucky Oaks (gr. I)."

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Valadorna will rejoin assistant trainer David Carroll, who was integral in the development of the bay filly this summer in Kentucky. The Casse crew also has John Oxley's Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) winner Pretty City Dancer, based in Florida and recently returned from a freshening, pointing toward the Kentucky Oaks.

The Fair Grounds series of three Kentucky Oaks preps commences with the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 21, followed by the $200,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 25 and the $400,000 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) April 1. All three events are two turns on the main track, with Silverbulletday contested at a mile and 70 yards and the remaining legs at 1 1/16 miles.