Nellie has been training well in south Florida and is currently in a holding pattern while we assess some up coming possibilities for her. I am interested in shortening her up and trying her somewhere around a mile or a mile and a 1/16 as I may have suggested in an earlier email.

There are two options which would be very competitive and on the big stage at either Gulfstream Park (March 28) or Keeneland (April 11) but from what I'm hearing from trainers and what I'm seeing in races these two option could potentially come up very tough and Nellie would probably go off at about 20-1.

I will keep an eye on these races but I'm leaning towards trying to find a softer race such as the $100k Dahlia Stake at Pimlico April 18th. It would allow us to get her 110% and she would possibly go off as the favorite in a race like that. As many of you know the winter has been cold and snowy which has resulted in the mid-Atlantic region canceling many racing and training days. We would have a fitness advantage over many of the potential horses she would be running against.

There are plenty of big race opportunities later in the year and I wouldn't mind getting her to win a couple smaller races and then pointing towards Saratoga in August since she always runs so well there.

Tres