Admit had an experience edge on White Rocks when she defeated her in a one-mile maiden special weight in December at Turfway Park. When the fillies met again in last month’s Cincinnati Trophy, White Rocks had the race flow and pace advantage to score a victory. Admit is sharper and has more ground to work with, but White Rocks has some added conditioning and relaxation, and their respective preparations make for a compelling rubber match in the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks on Saturday at Turfway Park. A trip to the Kentucky Oaks on May 2 at Churchill Downs is on the line, as the Bourbonette awards points toward the gate on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. White Rocks already owns 20 points and Admit 10 by virtue of their one-two finishes in the Cincinnati Trophy. In the December race, White Rocks was making her first start and Admit her third. Admit tracked the pace and ran clear for a professional score. Meanwhile, White Rocks made up ground late to cross the line third and moved into second by a disqualification after being bothered at the eighth pole. Admit went on to an impressive 3 1/2-length allowance win on Jan. 26. Ten days earlier, White Rocks won her maiden, cruising by six lengths on the front end. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The fillies met again in the Cincinnati Trophy on Feb. 21. After acting antsy in the gate, White Rocks was keen in the short run into the first turn of the one-mile race. While she got away with a half of 50.45 seconds in her maiden win, she ran 47.79 while leading by eight lengths entering the far turn in the Cincinnati Trophy. This was not necessarily what trainer Arnaud Delacour had planned, but not necessarily a surprise from the granddaughter of Tapit, a line known for being strong-willed, after Turfway’s training schedules were disrupted due to winter weather. “I thought we’d be able to sit off horses a little bit. It looked like there was more speed than when she broke her maiden, but nobody wanted the lead, so we took it,” Delacour said. “Keep in mind that when we ran the last time and even the time before, we missed a bunch of days of training, really, because of the weather, so a filly like her gets pretty nervous and just a little fresh.” Admit, fourth after the half, ate steadily into the leader’s margin down the stretch, but it was too late. White Rocks was kept busy down the lane by Victor Carrasco and held on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Admit, a daughter of Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Blame, galloped out in front and has an extra sixteenth of a mile to work with here. While Admit’s trainer, Tom Drury Jr., respects White Rocks, he thought it might have made a difference if his filly were a bit closer to the pace. To that end, he asked for more in a recent work, particularly since Admit and Irving Moncada drew post 3 in a large field. “I wanted to sharpen her a little, and being down inside, she’s gonna have to kind of leave there running,” Drury said. “And that 47 and change certainly seemed like it woke her up a little. I don’t know that we’re gonna be on the engine, but I would expect her to be a little more forward.” Meanwhile, Delacour expects his filly to be a bit less forward, which will help her with added distance. “I think she’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t do too much early,” he said. “I think this time we could keep her in a good routine, and I hope that it’s going to pay off as far as needing to relax and stretch a bit.” A candidate to challenge White Rocks’s relaxation early could be Just Ruthless, who has won races both from on and off the pace. The filly chased in second before fading in the Cincinnati Trophy, and a more comfortable rhythm could lead to a return to her best form. Will Then, who would be a pace factor, is expected to remain in California to race in the China Doll Stakes on Sunday. Her withdrawal would allow Bracelet, the first also-eligible, into the field. If there is another scratch, the second also-eligible, Classic Appeal, would become part of the pace scenario. That scratch is not likely to come from graded stakes-placed Bless the Broken, who is expected to run at Turfway rather than at Fair Grounds, where she is cross-entered. Other 3-year-old options While the focus Saturday will be on the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks hopefuls, there are options on this card for sophomores not ready for the graded stakes level of the Jeff Ruby or who prefer a shorter distance. Banks looks to recapture his good form in the $250,000 Rushaway Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. The gelding won a pair of one-mile races on the Tapeta before finishing an uninvolved seventh in the Leonatus at a mile and an even fourth in the John Battaglia at 1 1/16 miles. Coming in Hot cuts back to a preferred distance in the $250,000 Animal Kingdom going six furlongs. The colt won a pair of races sprinting at Turfway, including the Turfway Prevue on Jan. 4, and finished sixth attempting to stretch out in the Battaglia. Kale’s Angel is the winner of the Advent and Renaissance sprinting on dirt at Oaklawn Park. Those efforts were sandwiched around a two-turn third-place effort behind Coal Battle in the Smarty Jones. Kale’s Angel was a maiden winner sprinting on turf last year. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.