Red Carpet Ready Gets Her Grade 1 Shot in Madison

A stakes winner at 2, Red Carpet Ready stirred dreams of Oaks lilies amongst her connections following her dominant victory in the Forward Gal Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in her sophomore debut. Those dreams, however, were laid to rest when the filly failed to stay the mile when finishing third in the Davona Dale (G2). With the Kentucky Oaks and several other key grade 1 events out of the picture, the filly would need to wait until August for her opportunity to dance on the big stage in the $500,000 Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga.

Leading up to the Test, the daughter of Oscar Performance   executed a gutsy score under the Twin Spires in the seven-furlong Eight Belles Stakes (G2) on Kentucky Oaks day. Circling the Test as Red Carpet Ready’s summer campaign target, she then prepped in Belmont’s Victory Ride Stakes (G3), where fate would force the ebony-colored filly to wait once more for her elusive grade 1.

A disappointing seventh in the Victory Ride, Red Carpet Ready exited the race needing minor surgery and was laid over the next several months at Wimbledon Farm in Lexington. She stepped up to the starting gate eight months later as a 4-year-old in the March 9 Hurricane Bertie Stakes (G3) and not only won but recorded the highest speed figure of her seven-start career.

Video: Hurricane Bertie S. (G3)

“You always want to make sure they come back at the level they ran before,” trainer George “Rusty” Arnold said. “We gave her some time off and when she came back she trained the right way. You think you know how they’ll come back but you never know until they do it. We were very happy with the race.”

Arnold admitted he didn’t believe he had Red Carpet Ready 100% fit for the Hurricane Bertie, where she defeated a salty field of Florida graded stakes winners in a dazzling time of 1:16 for 6 1/2 furlongs. The old-school Kentucky horseman noted the filly “could’ve had a little more training in her” and wanted to ensure she was primed to perfection for her next outing, which he initially believed would be the Derby City Distaff (G1) May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Red Carpet Ready had other ideas.

“There was discussion about not running here and waiting for Churchill,” Arnold said. “She just came out (that last race) so well. We let her lead us and she just bounced back very good and was acting and feeling very good. So she took us here and we’re going to roll the dice.”

Piloted by regular rider Luis Saez, Red Carpet Ready will not only get her shot at a grade 1 in Saturday’s seven-furlong Madison, but also potential bragging rights as the leading female sprinter in the land. The older female sprinting division, flushed with talent last year, is without a current leader with the retirement of two-time champion Goodnight Olive and the death of Eclipse Award winner and sensational speedster Echo Zulu.

As is typical of any grade 1 at Keeneland, the race is not without its contenders. In the absence of Goodnight Olive, a field of 8 has assembled for the first filly and mare sprinting jewel of the spring season.

Most notable among Red Carpet Ready’s challengers is Belladonna Racing and Edward Hudson Jr.’s grade 2-winning filly Vahva . Like Red Carpet Ready, the 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner has also secured her niche around one turn after a failed bid on the Kentucky Oaks trail. The Cherie DeVaux trainee came on late in her 3-year-old season to land back-to-back graded stakes races going seven furlongs, including scoring in Keeneland’s Raven Run Stakes (G2) last fall.