The pace picks up on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) this weekend with a trio of point qualifiers in Florida, New York, and California.
The $215,000 Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, the $200,000 Busher Stakes at Aqueduct are Saturday, and the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita is Sunday.
All three races for 3-year-old fillies offer Oaks points of 50-25-15-10-5 points to the first five finishers.
La Cara. NYRA/Coglianese Photo.
Three big Kerntucky Oaks preps are on tap on Saturday
Heading into the races, Quietside sits atop the Oaks leaderboard with 68 points – 50 from last weekend’s victory in the Honeybee Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park. Good Cheer, winner of the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) at the Fair Grounds on Feb. 15, is second with 45 points, and Las Virgenes Stakes (G3) winner Tenma is third with 33 points.
Next up on the leaderboard is La Cara, who is the slight 8-5 favorite over Ballerina d’Oro (9-5) in the 1-mile Davona Dale.
The Street Sense filly returns to the races after a short three-week break, having won the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 8.
Trainer Mark Casse says his goal is to get La Cara to the Ashland Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on April 4, and the Davona Dale is the steppingstone.
“Obviously, we want her to run well and we hope we win,’’ Casse told drf.com. “But I’m trying to get to the Ashland in what I think is the best way to get there.”
La Cara, who will be ridden again by Dylan Davis, did not have a timed workout since the Suncoast.
Not the same case with Ballerina d’Oro, who hasn’t raced since finishing a closing second to Muhimma is the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct on Dec. 7. The Medaglia d’Oro filly has worked at least six times since, most recently going 4 furlongs in 50.00 seconds at Payson Park on Feb. 23.
Ballerina d’Oro missed a possible start in the Rachel Alexandra with a fever, and trainer Chad Brown determined the Davona Dale would be a good fit.
“The race (Davona Dale) was coming up a shorter field than I thought, and there are points involved,” Brown said, adding that his goal, too, is getting his filly to the Ashland. “She doesn’t seem any worse for wear in her gallops from the week off. Hopefully, we can pick up some points instead of going in a point-less allowance.”
At 5-2 is The Queens M G, a two-time winner at Saratoga last summer who finished third in the Forward Gal Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream on Feb. 1. Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the return call for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.
The rest of the field: Frida (10-1), My Denysse (20-1), Madeline’s Promise (20-1), and Quinn’s Promise (20-1).
Post time is 3:04 p.m. ET
For those who bet horse racing …
The picks: 1 The Queens M G 2 La Cara 3 Ballerina d’Oro
$200,000 Busher at Aqueduct; picks
Sharp Smile at 3-1 is the slight favorite over 7-2 Ramify in a field of nine.
Sharp Smile, trained by Brad Cox, broke her maiden at third asking and finished third in the Busanda Stakes on Jan. 18 at Aqueduct. Manny Franco has the call.
Ramify, trained by Brad Cox, ran fourth in the Busanda after winning in her debut. Javier Castellano rides.
Others to watch include Drexel Hill at 6-1 for trainer Whit Beckman and Liam in the Dust at 9-2 for Rodolphe Brisset.
Post time is 3:47 p.m. ET
The picks: 1 Drexel Hill 2 Sharp Smile 3 Liam in the Dust
$100,000 Santa Ysabel (G3) at Santa Anita (Sunday); picks
Trainer Bob Baffert sends out three of the six fillies entered for the 1 1/16-mile steppingstone to the Santa Anita Oaks (G1), and on to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on May 2.
However, there seems to be no clear-cut betting option, even with Baffert fillies Cipriani, Maysam, and Howin in the field.
Cipriani won her debut last fall by more than eight lengths, and finished a distant second in a three-horse field behind stablemate Tenma in the in the Las Virgenes on Feb. 2. Hall of Famer Mike Smith has the call.
Maysam won der debut but had a tough race in running sixth in the Sunland Park Oaks. Howin was fourth in the Santa Ynez on Jan. 5 after winning in her debut last October.
Supa Speed, trained by John Sadler, should garner interest for her first race on dirt. The Justify filly is 2-for-5 on the turf. Flavien Prat will ride.
Also entered are Just as Fancy and Hey Jessie.
Post time is 5:30 p.m. ET.
The picks: 1 Cipriani 2 Supa Speed 3 Maysam
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
