NEW ORLEANS, La. – Intricate couldn’t come close to reeling in Tarifa last month in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes but the gap between these two talented 3-year-old fillies will narrow when they hook up again Saturday in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Tarifa had been on a steady racing pattern since October, when she turned away Intricate and won the Rachel Alexandra, run over a sloppy, sealed surface Feb. 17 by nearly three lengths. Intricate had been on winter holiday, racing for the first time since an impressive victory Nov. 25 in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. And Churchill is where the connections of both horses hope to land when the Kentucky Oaks comes around the first Friday in May. The Grade 2, $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks over 1 1/16 miles is a major Oaks qualifier, the first five finishers earning 100, 50, 25, 15, and 10 points through the system that determines the race’s 14 runners. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Though Intricate and Tarifa are the two most likely winners, the local Oaks is no two-horse race. Eight were entered but Alpine Princess runs instead at Turfway Park and Accommodate Eva could opt for the Crescent City Oaks for Louisiana-breds on Saturday. Her trainer, Dallas Stewart, said a decision comes Saturday. Intricate hails from the barn of Brendan Walsh, trainer of 2023 Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, who won the Rachel Alexandra but finished second in the Fair Grounds Oaks. Intricate’s pattern is different. Walsh said the filly would benefit from the Rachel Alexandra and had been trained to improve into the Fair Grounds Oaks. In the Rachel Alexandra, Intricate and regular jockey Tyler Gaffalione stalked the pace from the rail, wheeling into the homestretch like they’d have a chance at Tarifa, who stayed on well through the final furlong as Intricate ran out of steam. “We had enough work in her coming off a layoff but didn’t have her cranked-cranked. We tried to leave a little there. She should strip a little fitter this time,” Walsh said. “We also thought she was a little ring-rusty last time. She was a little farther back than what Tyler wanted, and when he asked her, she took just a second to pick up.” Intricate’s most serious work for the Fair Grounds Oaks came March 8, when she was timed in a quick 48 seconds for a half-mile to the wire but did the strongest part of her breeze past the finish and onto the backstretch, drawing far clear of two workmates. “She looks fantastic. We don’t have much excuse,” said Walsh. Even an improved Intricate ought to find Tarifa a worthy foe. Fourth in her second start, Tarifa has won her three other races while improving considerably through the winter, coming to a peak in the Rachel Alexandra, her stakes debut. “Her works have continued to get a little bit better, I do believe that,” said trainer Brad Cox, who won the Kentucky Oaks in 2020 with Shedaresthedevil and in 2018 with Monomoy Girl. Tarifa, a Godolphin homebred, has gotten very aggressive beginning her recent workouts. That’s nothing new, Cox said. The filly can be strong in her races, too, but melted into jockey Flavien Prat’s soft hands in the Rachel Alexandra. “She wanted to be a touch keen last time. Flavien really got her to relax. She kind of kicked clear late,” Cox said. Our Pretty Woman makes her stakes debut and is likely to race for the first time over a fast track. A debut route winner here Jan. 18 on a sloppy surface, Our Pretty Woman came back Feb. 17 with a wet-track allowance victory and could find herself on the lead Saturday. “She trains really well on the fast track,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “She’s a solid filly, has never asked for a favor. She’s set up for this opportunity and has put in the work.” Slop does not suit V V’s Dream, who has floundered over wet tracks her last two starts. Course conditions, rather than distance limitations, account for sound defeats in those races, trainer Kenny McPeek believes. “I don’t have any doubt she can go two turns,” said McPeek, who also has Midsummer March, a last-out, second-start maiden winner, in the Oaks. “It’s taken her a little while, but we always regarded her as one of our best fillies,” McPeek said of Midsummer March. Lucy Got Game exits a Delta Downs maiden win. She has upside but faces an uphill battle in a salty Fair Grounds Oaks. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.