Red Carpet Ready Gets Her Grade 1 Shot in Madison

Ashbrook Farm and Upland Flats Racing's Red Carpet Ready, a onetime Kentucky Oaks (G1) hopeful who found her best stride sprinting around one turn, will finally have her chance to taste grade 1 glory in the April 6 $600,000 Madison Stakes (G1) at Keeneland opening weekend. A stakes winner at 2, Red Carpet Ready stirred dreams of Oaks lilies among 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, she would need to wait until August for her opportunity to dance on the big stage in the $500,000 Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. 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 prepped in Belmont Park'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 off over the next several months at Wimbledon Farm near 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 was only a tick off her career best Equibase Speed Figure of 99. "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 1:16.09 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 (of her 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, flush with talent last year, is without a 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 eight has assembled for the first filly and mare sprinting jewel of the spring season. Most notable among Red Carpet Ready's challengers is the grade 2-winning filly Vahva, who is owned by a large partnership that includes Belladonna Racing, Edward Hudson Jr. West Point Thoroughbreds, LBD Stable, Nice Guys Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, Runnels Racing, Steve Hornstock, and Twin Brook Stables. Like Red Carpet Ready, the 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner has 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 going seven furlongs, including scoring in Keeneland's Raven Run Stakes (G2) last fall. The likely pacesetter in the Madison, Alva Starr, was narrowly defeated by Vahva in last year's Raven Run. Trained by Brett Brinkman, the Lord Nelson filly has captured three of her last four outings, all stakes, in frontrunning fashion. She comes into the Madison off a 3 1/2-length romp in the Feb. 3 American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Park to open her 4-year-old campaign. New York-bred stakes winner Sterling Silver, disqualified in last year's Gallant Bloom Stakes (G2) after crossing the wire a four-length winner, and last year's Madison runner-up, Maryquitecontrary, also figure to be contenders in Saturday's race.