Stardom Bound out of Oaks

That intriguing matchup pitting Rachel Alexandra against Stardom Bound in the Kentucky Oaks on May 1 is off. Read the story from the Daily Racing Form:

By David Grening
Stardom Bound, last year's 2-year-old filly champion, has been ruled out of the May 1 Kentucky Oaks by her connections and will be given 60 days off to prepare for a late summer and fall campaign.

The decision was made Saturday after Stardom Bound had a subpar training session at Keeneland, said Michael Iavarone, co-president of the IEAH Stables, which owns majority interest in the filly. Stardom Bound was scheduled to breeze Sunday morning at Keeneland, but Iavarone said that exercise rider Michelle Nevin told him that she didn't feel comfortable working the filly.

Stardom Bound finished third in the Grade 1 Ashland in her last start.

"She just dulled out; she hasn't trained forwardly at all since the Ashland," Iavarone said. "It seems like we're at the point where she just needs a freshening. She was going to breeze [Sunday], but Michelle told me she'd be afraid to breeze the filly. That's all I needed to hear.

"She would have to be 100 percent to go against Rachel Alexandra, and now that there's this question, it doesn't make sense. It's disappointing because we really wanted to run in that race. She deserves to run against the best when she's at her best."

Iavarone said that Stardom Bound would likely be turned out at Three Chimneys Farm in Lexington, Ky.

As a 2-year-old, Stardom Bound was owned by Charlie Cono and trained by Christopher Paasch, and she won the Eclipse Award on the strength of electrifying off-the-pace victories in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Oak Leaf, and Del Mar Debutante. She went through the auction ring last November, and was purchased for $5.7 million by a group headed by IEAH.

Stardom Bound began her 3-year-old season with Grade 1 victories in the Las Virgenes and Santa Anita Oaks for trainer Bobby Frankel. She was turned over to Rick Dutrow and had her five-race winning streak snapped in the Ashland.