Jody’s Pride, Fiona’s Magic 1-2 on Kentucky Oaks leaderboard

A neck shy of pulling off a 17-1 upset in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Jody’s Pride made her 3-year-old debut a winning one and vaulted from 24^th to first place on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) leaderboard with her 2 ¼-length score in the $200,000 Busher Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday.

Stalking pacesetter Carmelina through fractions of 23.62, 46.81 and 1:11.96 over the sloppy, sealed track, the daughter of American Pharoah went six-wide into the lane to take a narrow lead at the top of the stretch and pulled clear to hit the wire in 1:38.49 for the mile.

Jody’s Pride’s Winning Streak Continues

Ridden by Jose Lezcano, Jody’s Pride returned $3.90 for a $2 win bet, and earned $110,00 for Parkland Thoroughbred and Sportsmen Stables.

Jody’s Pride, who had already earned 15 qualifying points by finishing second to filly champion Just F Y I in the Juvenile Fillies last fall, received another 50 points on Saturday, putting her five points up on Davona Dale (G2) winner Fiona’s Magic on the Oaks leaderboard at day’s end.

Trained by Jorge Abreu, Jody’s Pride had been slated to run in the Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park, but her owners called an audible and elected to send her to New York instead. Abreu said he would wait to decide on whether to run her in the $200,000 Gazelle, which carries 100 Oaks points to the winner, on April 6 at Aqueduct, or choose another spot.

Fiona’s Magic Shines: Dominates Davona Dale, Earns Kentucky Oaks Points

Meanwhile, back at Gulfstream, Fiona’s Magic took advantage of the race day scratch of the aforementioned Just F Y I to go gate-to-wire in the Davona Dale and earn herself 50 additional points towards a starting berth in the Kentucky Oaks.

The Florida-bred daughter of St Patrick’s Day, who had picked up 10 points by finishing second in the Forward Gal (G3) last month, set fractions of 24.59, 47.47, and 1:11.72 under Tyler Gaffalione while racing well off the rail. Confronted on either side at the top of the stretch by Into Champagne and Leslie’s Rose – who had inherited the role of favorite in Just F Y I’s absence — Fiona’s Magic dug in and hit the wire in 1:37.16 for the mile.

“I had a lot of confidence today,” said Stonehedge’s Marilyn Campbell of Fiona’s Wish, now 3-2-0 from five starts. “In her [first] four races, she showed a lot of potential. You never know what’s going to happen. But she did it.”

Kentucky Oaks Contenders Making Moves: Notable Performances and Rankings

The Davona Dale is followed on March 30 by the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), which carries 200 qualifying points for the first five finishers.

Third on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard is the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Lemon Muffin, who pulled off a 28-1 upset in the 1 1/16-mile Honeybee on Feb. 24 at Oaklawn Park.

On Friday at Turfway Park, Maxisuperfly put herself in the picture for the Oaks with a 23-1 upset of the $150,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes, earning 20 points, good for 17^th on the leaderboard, for her front-running effort.

Rounding out the top 10 are Tarifa and Manama Gold, both with 50 points, Busher third-place finisher Gin Gin (41), Just F Y I (whose scratch was prompted by a slight fever, according to  trainer Bill Mott) with 40 points, West Omaha (40), Intricate (35), Tapit Jennallie (29), and Davona Dale runner-up Into Champagne (25).