LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Is the second time the charm? That’s one of the questions for top contenders in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks – the 150th running of the filly classic – on Friday at Churchill Downs. Just F Y I, last year’s Eclipse Award champion juvenile filly, got a late start to her 3-year-old campaign and makes just her second start of the season in the Oaks. The same is true of Thorpedo Anna and Ways and Means. It can be done. Three years ago, Malathaat won the Oaks in her second start of the year. Just F Y I, who won all three starts last year, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, was forced to scratch from the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes in March due to a fever. She was second in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes on April 5 at Keeneland. “She seems like having the race under her belt, she’s begun to wake up,” trainer Bill Mott said. “Over the winter, they kind of let down, and they’re going through the motions, and they’re training, but sometimes, it takes a race to really put them on edge. I think we accomplished that with the race in the Ashland, so hopefully it’ll move her forward.” Just F Y I is one of 11 fillies in the main body of the field of 14 coming off career-best Beyer Speed Figures. Projecting who will continue to improve – or who could bounce – is key. Those making their second starts of the year are intriguing propositions, as they likely needed that first start. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. The favorites on Mike Battaglia’s morning line – Tarifa at 7-2 and Leslie’s Rose at 4-1 – are both lightly raced fillies, and it stands to reason they could continue moving forward. Tarifa has made five career starts, winning all three outings this year around two turns, including the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks with a Beyer of 95. She and Leslie’s Rose are tied for the best figure in this field. Tarifa won the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes in February on a sloppy, sealed track, and Just F Y I won on a track rated thus in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes last fall. There is now higher than an 80 percent chance of rain for parts of Friday afternoon. Tarifa is still maturing mentally. She battled to the wire to win the Fair Grounds Oaks despite tugging hard into the first turn. “She was a little rank early,” said Brad Cox, who also will saddle Gin Gin, third in the Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes, in search of his third Oaks victory. “Had a little bit of a rough run into the first turn and didn’t really settle that well going up the backstretch, but she was still able to continue on and able to get the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance. We’ve worked with trying to get her to settle – she does at times, but she is forward, and we’re not just going to snap our fingers and turn her off. She’s a high-energy filly that wants to be involved early.” Leslie’s Rose, trained by Todd Pletcher, was third as the favorite in the Davona Dale, when her connections felt she was intimidated trying to move on the inside in her third career start. The filly showed she learned from that experience in the Ashland, splitting horses at the quarter pole and powering clear to a three-length win over Just F Y I. Pletcher is seeking his fifth Oaks win, which would tie him with Woody Stephens and D. Wayne Lukas for the all-time record. Lukas – for whom Pletcher was an assistant – will send out Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes winner Lemon Muffin. Lemon Muffin is looking to bounce back after running seventh in the Grade 2 Fantasy. While Just F Y I was winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last fall to lock up her championship, Ways and Means, who looked special romping in her debut at Saratoga, was on the shelf, having emerged from her brave runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes with an ankle chip. Making not only her season debut but her two-turn debut in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, Ways and Means had an adventurous trip in which she was steadied and wide. She was run down late by a quality foe in Power Squeeze, who has won four straight races, all at increasing distances. Chad Brown, who also has Gazelle runner-up Regulatory Risk in the Oaks, has been very positive about Ways and Means, despite feeling she may have worked too quickly in her final breeze last week. “She came out very sound and happy, [but] normally those things, you don’t quite know until the next week when you either run them or work them,” he said. No one has expressed more confidence than Kenny McPeek, who is chasing an elusive Oaks win with Thorpedo Anna after finishing second in this race three times. The filly, whose 3-year-old debut was delayed by a hip bruise, rolled by four lengths in the Fantasy and has been on the muscle in her training. “They better bring a bear, because I’m bringing a grizzly,” McPeek said. “She’s fast, she’s smart, she’s tactical – what more do you want? She could place herself about anywhere. She’ll have to run her best race, but I think handicapping the numbers, she’s got a good chance. It’s not intimidating. I think it’s wide open.” Leslie's Rose, Thorpedo Anna, and Ways and Means are among those who have never raced on a track rated muddy or sloppy. Thorpedo Anna, who will be ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., is among those who would like to be forwardly placed or in the second flight of horses but also have the ability to adjust tactics. That group also includes Tarifa (Flavien Prat aboard), Leslie’s Rose (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Just F Y I (Junior Alvarado), and Ways and Means (Tyler Gaffalione), making this a rider’s race. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Tarifa was among those faring well at the draw, landing post 8 – “I love the spot,” Cox said – outside most of the potential speed, with Lemon Muffin in post 6, Davona Dale winner Fiona’s Magic in post 7, and Gulfstream Oaks third-place finisher Into Champagne in post 10. Brown thinks Ways and Means, who drew post 11, could go with them. “With Ways and Means, raw speed especially going 1 1/8 miles, I expect her to be very forward in the race,” Brown said. “I’d rather her be outside most horses through that first run into the turn and have options out there.” Adding more speed to the mix is Our Pretty Woman, who drew into the race off the also-eligible list Thursday morning with the scratch of longshot Tapit Jenallie. The filly, who will now break from the outside post in the field of 14 under Joel Rosario, won her first two starts before finishing second by three-quarters of a length to Tarifa in the Fair Grounds Oaks. "She's a lightly raced filly that obviously has got a tremendous amount of talent," said trainer Steve Asmussen, who is seeking his third Oaks win. "Pretty big chance of rain Friday, [and] she's 2 for 2 on an off track. The draw wouldn't be exactly what you would ask for at a mile an an eighth, but if she breaks well and shows her customary pace, she can be anywhere Joel wants her." Just F Y I and Leslie’s Rose now break from posts 12 and 13, respectively. Mott was happy to be in the clear, noting Just F Y I broke from the outside in a field of 12 at the Breeders’ Cup, with a shorter run into the first turn to work with. Pletcher, however, was less than thrilled. “It’s not ideal,” he said. “We’ll have to overcome it.” Gazelle winner Where’s My Ring, who broke her maiden in that race, and Bourbonette Oaks winner Everland, making her first start on dirt, complete the main body of the field. With Our Pretty Woman drawing into the field, Grade 1-winning juvenile Candied, fourth in the Ashland for Pletcher in her season debut, is the lone also-eligible remaining. She has until scratch time, 9 a.m. Friday morning, to draw in. The Oaks is race 11 on Churchill’s 13-race Friday card, with first post at 10:30 a.m. on the first of two marathon days beneath the twin spires. The filly classic is preceded by six graded stakes worth a combined $3.75 million. Most compelling of those is the Grade 1, $1 million La Troienne Stakes, in which last year’s Kentucky Oaks winner and champion 3-year-old filly Pretty Mischievous faces Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner and champion older dirt female Idiomatic, with both making their 2024 debuts. The Oaks, and several preceding stakes, will be broadcast nationally on the USA Network, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.