Trainer Mark Hennig believes he ran Gun Song back too quickly following her sharp win in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico. And if Gun Song runs as quickly Saturday at Monmouth Park as she did in the Black-Eyed Susan, she’ll be a handful in the Grade 3, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks. The Monmouth Oaks drew eight entrants and at 1 1/16 miles is a half-furlong shorter than Gun Song’s two most recent races. Her performance over 1 1/8 miles last month at Saratoga in the Grade 1 Acorn was as poor as her Black-Eyed Susan had been strong. Racing in New York last fall before wintering in Florida, where she finished a well-beaten fourth making her stakes debut in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, Gun Song put it all together at Pimlico, drawing off by 3 1/4 lengths with an 88 Beyer Speed Figure, tops among the fillies in this field. That outing came May 17, the Acorn on June 7. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “I probably ran her back a little too quickly off a big effort,” Hennig said. “In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. She’s physically fine, so we’ll see how she is this time.” As the 2-1 morning-line favorite, Gun Song could be vulnerable in a solid renewal of the Monmouth Oaks. The filly has been going steadily without a break since her career debut, and that steep decline in the Acorn, where she was all but eased, came after a perfect trip pressing a tepid pace in the Black-Eyed Susan. Listed at odds of 7-2, second choice on the morning line, Little Jamie appears to be an improving filly nine starts into her career. Based in Kentucky with trainer Robbie Medina, Little Jaime exits a career-best showing in the Indiana Oaks, where she took a lead in upper stretch, only to lose by a head when the last filly she’d passed, Chatalas, came back to win. That race marked the first since her career debut without blinkers. “Two races ago at Churchill, when she was third, she was going pretty easy and when she turned for home looked like she was going to kick on, but she kind of just stayed there,” Medina said. “Tyler Gaffalione told me, ‘This filly doesn’t need the blinkers.’ I took them off, and I think she ran better.” She did, posting a career-best 85 Beyer, and while Little Jaime has been racing steadily just as long as Gun Song, Medina sees no sign of decline. “She’s an average-size filly but she was always a heavy filly – too heavy at times. She always gave that appearance she was going to need racing to get her going, and today she looks better than at any point since I’ve had her,” Medina said. Little Jaime, along with Yes to Champagne and Chilled, ship from Kentucky for the race. Scalable beat Yes to Champagne last out in a June 29 first-level Churchill allowance and has been based with trainer Todd Pletcher’s string at Monmouth. Chilled could prove a major player Saturday. Trained by Vickie Oliver, Chilled has made only two of her six starts in routes, and those races easily were her best. Despite a rough-and-tumble run through a small upper-stretch hole June 22 at Churchill, Chilled won a maiden route by eight lengths. She’s come back with fast work at Oliver’s Keeneland base and gets the services of Monmouth icon Joe Bravo. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.