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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The stretch at Churchill Downs can seem never-ending, especially when you are aboard a talented filly named Blind Luck and you are the 6-5 favorite in the 136th running of the Kentucky Oaks.

Rafael Bejarano knew Blind Luck had plenty of run left in her, but she had dawdled a little a bit early in the race and they had lost ground. He asked his filly for some juice before he had wanted to heading into the far turn.

Blind Luck picked it up on the outside. When Bejarano hit the stretch, however, a filly named Evening Jewel was four lengths ahead. In the clubhouse, the trainer of Blind Luck knew his girl was in trouble.

“I was really concerned,” he said.

Bejarano was not.

“I knew she was going to show me a big kick,” Bejarano said. “The other horse was still running strong. She gave me an extra kick, and that’s why she finished.”

Did she finish, pounding down the lane for 200 yards until she was nose-to-nose with Evening Jewel. They traded bobs for another dozen strides and then the wire.

The photo flashed, and then everyone in the crowd of 116,046 waited. The image showed Blind Luck a slim nostril ahead of Evening Jewel.

“I didn’t know she was a winner until they put her number up,” said Hollendorfer, who also co-owns the filly.

After coming close to winning his first major title in the Masters earlier this month, England's Lee Westwood returns to PGA Tour action for this week's Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, N.C.

"I didn't dwell on it for too long," Westwood said Tuesday about finishing in second, three strokes behind Phil Mickelson, who won his third green jacket. After taking the 54-hole lead, Westwood closed with a 1-under 71 but was overtaken by Mickelson's 67.

Westwood now has nine top-10 finishes in major championships during his career. Though the $6.4 million Quail Hollow Championship isn't one of the year's four majors, it certainly can boast a top-caliber field in 2010, with 11 of the top 16 players in the world, including Tiger Woods and Mickelson, ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in the world.

The world's best players are using the event to prep for next week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., often called golf's "fifth major."

Westwood said his game has gone a bit rusty since the Masters, but he hopes to get back on track quickly and be competitive. "I came out on Sunday to try and give myself an extra day to warm up and get some good preparation in. The quality of the field here is fantastic. You've got the two best players in the world, strong field all the way through. It's right before the Players Championship next week, which attracts players there. It's a great two weeks to come over and test myself against the best again."

Here's what else the 37-year-old, currently ranked fourth in the world, had to say during a session with reporters on Tuesday at the tournament site, Quail Hollow Club.

MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Lee Westwood to the interview room. Lee is going to be making his third appearance at the Quail Hollow Championship and his first since 2007. Lee has not played since his second place finish at the Masters, so maybe if you could talk a little bit about coming back to Quail Hollow and what you've been doing for the last two weeks since the Masters.

LEE WESTWOOD: Well, it's nice to be back at Quail Hollow. It's a golf course I enjoy playing. It's a golf course that's got a major championship feel to it, if anything, I'd say. It's an old, traditional course, makes you think a lot. You have to drive the ball well. All your game has got to be in good shape. And once you get on the greens, this week there's some really fast putts out there. These are as quick as anything I've seen all year, I think. It's good to be back. As for the last two weeks, I have not done a lot. I feel a bit rusty. After the Masters I sort of sat down and felt like I needed a bit of a rest, and as I built up to the Masters since, well, the end of last year, really, so I've been switched off the last couple of weeks and just a bit rusty coming in here. Not hitting it quite as good, but I think I'll sharpen as the week goes on hopefully.

Q. Can you talk about it being a major championship venue? Could you see a major being played on this golf course?