LADY T (left) with Ian Spence aboard, disposing of RIO INFINITO (Allen Maragh) in deep stretch to win the 1000 Guineas on April 7. - file

By Jimmie, Star Racing Writer

TRAINER Dwight Chen, whose LADY T ran on stoutly in the final furlong to beat Gary Subratie's RIO INFINITO in the 1000 Guineas over a mile, says the 10-furlong Jamaica Oaks, set for April 22, is too close on the heels of last Saturday's Guineas.

Chen and fellow trainer, Anthony Nunes, who had two fillies in the 1000 Guineas, both said the 10-furlong Oaks was ridiculously close to the one-mile Guineas and does not give fillies enough time to recover.

"It's too close, you can't run the Guineas and then the Oaks two weeks later," said Chen, adding that the Guineas took a lot out of LADY T, who won as a rank 71-1 outsider.

"She is not as fresh as she was for the Guineas, it took a lot out of her," said Chen.

"We're trying to freshen her up. When you run a mile race, you need time to recover and two weeks is what we have. We will just have to work with it," he added.

Nunes said his fillies, ORION and FIDDLE STICKS, will race in the Oaks, but lamented the proximity of the race.

"They will race because it's the Oaks, but certainly not the right timing," he pointed out.

"Other than the Triple Crown in the States, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness two weeks apart, no other classic in the world is so close, especially for fillies," he added.

"They are light-framed horses and different from colts plus moving from a mile to 10 furlongs is tough," Nunes said.

"There is absolutely no way you can train a horse in that two-week period. You can't get in a prep race or a two-week gallop. There is not much you can do," he added.

Meanwhile, trainer Gary Subratie, whose RIO INFINITO, was caught close home by LADY T in the 1000 Guineas, said his filly will be back for the Oaks.

"I was happy with the backstretch," he said. "Coming around the turn, probably 'Bungo' made his move a little too early, plus he broke a little slow, but the jockey saw winnings and went for it," he added.

RIO INFINITO's owner, Don Wehby, said he was proud of his filly's effort.

"I think she ran well," he said. "She broke a little late but she ran her heart out. I am pleased and we will be going for the Oaks," Wehby said.