The $125,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday, a 1 1/8-mile test for newly turned 3-year-old fillies with Ramify the 5-2 morning-line favorite, is a steppingstone on New York’s road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 2,
Ramify. NYRA/Coglianese Photo.
Wide open field of nine talented fillies set to contest the Busanda Saturday
A field of nine is entered, including a pair trained by five-time Busanda winner Todd Pletcher — Carmen’s Candy Jar (crossed-entered in a Friday allowance race at the Big A), and Ruth, both at 8-1.
The race is worth 20-10-6-4-2 Oaks qualifying points to the top five finishers on a sliding scale.
This looks to be an evenly matched field making it a tough race for those who bet horse racing. But we’ll try to come up with a few nuggets that might be helpful.
Juddmonte’s Ramify rallied for a half-length debut win at 1-mile over My Sherrona on Dec. 8 at Aqueduct. Jose Lezcano gets the call leaving from post. My Sherrona, second in both of her starts, is back for another shot at 9-2 odds.
Trainer Brad Cox, who sends out two fillies in the Oaks points-qualifier Silverbulletday at the Fair Grounds on Saturday, has Sharp Smile (6-1) for the Busanda. The Practical Joke filly broke her maiden at third asking, winning at 1-mile at the Big A on Dec. 21. Manny Franco has the return call from post 1.
Perhaps the most interesting filly is Running Away, the second choice at 3-1. A daughter of Gun Runner, she ran twice on turf (second and third) but was switched to dirt last out and led from the start in a five-length win going 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Down on Nov. 30.
“She just breaks and goes. That’s the way she trains in the mornings, too – on the bridle right from the start,” trainer Wesley Ward. “Once she gets there, she’s pretty relaxed.
“I think she can run on the grass, and she ran a few good races over it, but she’s always had very quick, fast works on the dirt. I probably should have switched her over sooner than I did. She’s a big, rangy, long-bodied type filly, so I didn’t want to race her too much at two and wanted her fresh and developing now that she’s three.”
We like his thinking.
Post time for the Busanda is 3:39 p.m. ET.
The picks: 1 Running Away 2 Ramify 3 Ruth
The field for the $125,000 Busanda Stakes, from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Sharp Smile (Manny Franco, Brad Cox), 6-1
2 Beautiful Blome (Eric Cancel, Tony Pecoraro), 20-1
3 Ramify (Jose Lezcano, Chad Brown), 5-2
4 Bless the Broken (Ruben Silvera, Will Walden), 15-1
5 Carmen’s Candy Jar (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher), 8-1
6 Ruth (J Gomez, Todd Pletcher), 8-1
7 My Sherrona (Romero Maragh, Ray Handal), 9-2
8 Bernieandtherose (Katie Davis, Dominick Schettino), 12-1
9 Running Away (Sahin Civaci, Wesley Ward), 3-1