Talk Veuve to Me sizzles in Sunday breeze, look at the Alabama possible

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Grade 3 Indiana Oaks winner Talk Veuve to Me turned heads with a sharp four-furlong work in 47.02 seconds Sunday over the Oklahoma training track, the fastest of 98 horses at the distance, as she prepares for a possible start in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama.

Trainer Rodolphe Brisset was aboard Talk Veuve to Me, who galloped out five furlongs in :59 4/5. Brisset, a former assistant and exercise rider for Hall of Famer Bill Mott, co-owns the Violence filly with Team Valor International and Stephen McKay.

“She worked very good. We went a tick faster than what I wanted, but I guess I’m the one to blame,” Brisset said. “She did it pretty easy, on her own. We were looking for a 48 more than a 47, but we were happy with the way she did it and the way she cooled out.”

Talk Veuve to Me was working for the first time following her 4 ¾-length triumph in the Indiana Oaks, contested at 1 1/16 miles on July 14. It was her second win from five career starts and first in a stakes, preceded by backto-back runner-up finishes in the Grade 1 Acorn June 9 at Belmont Park and Grade 2 Eight Belles May 4 at Churchill Downs.

“She bounced back really good from her last race and she was ready to breeze. She may have fooled me a little bit,” Brisset said. “It didn’t feel like I was going that fast, so it’s always a good sign, but at the same time it was a bit faster than what we were looking for. So, we may want to try and slow her down a little bit next week.”

Talk Veuve to Me raced once at 2, finishing second in a maiden special weight last August at Ellis Park. She didn’t race again until breaking her maiden by 11 ¼ lengths going six furlongs at Fair Grounds on March 25.

The Indiana Oaks marked Talk Veuve to Me’s first time racing beyond one mile. Favored in the field of seven, she took the lead after a half-mile and completed the distance in 1:43.15 over a fast track at Indiana Grand under a hand ride from jockey Julien Leparoux.

“Her race in Indiana we thought was pretty impressive. She handled the two turns very well,” Brisset said. “We are very strongly looking at the Alabama, for sure. She showed us two turns may not be a problem for her at all. The mile and a quarter, you don’t really know until you try it. If we are pleased with the next two breezes, it could be the spot where we go next.”