The $100,000 Busanda Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday is the midway point on the New York road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1), and trainer Ken McPeek hopes Shimmering Allure can live up to her role as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.
The most seasoned and accomplished filly in the compact field of five, Shimmering Allure finished second to Life Talk in the Demoiselle (G2) on Dec. 3 over a sloppy track at Aqueduct.
“The winner looks like she went down south but we stayed put here,” McPeek said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a big chance to win again.”
Gin Gin’s Comeback Bid: A Closer Look at the Busanda Stakes and Kentucky Oaks Qualifying Points
The filly rallied from seventh to first in winning the 1-mile Tempted Stakes on Nov. 4 at Keeneland, and her resume stands at 7-2-3-0 with earnings of $239,095.
The Busanda at 1 1/8 miles offers Oaks qualifying points on 20-10-6-4-2 to the first five finishers. Two more preps remain on New York’s path to the Oaks, the Busher (50-25-15-10-5) on March 2 and the Gazelle (100-50-25-15-10) on April 5.
The field is a testy one, starting with Gin Gin, looking to rebound from a fifth last out in the Golden Rod (G2) in November at Churchill Downs after being bumped at the start. Brad Cox trains, Trevor McCarthy has the call.
“She’s doing good. She breezed on Saturday – a nice, basic breeze. She had a really quick breeze two weeks ago, so we went simple this week,” Cox’s assistant Dustin Dugas said. “She does things so easy. She’s a nice, good-looking filly – a big girl.”
Most of All, Class Act, and Princess Mayfair complete the field.
The picks: 1 Gin Gin 2 Shimmering Allure 3 Class Act
The field for the $100,000 Busanda, from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 Gin Gin (Trevor McCarthy, Brad Cox), 5-2
2 Shimmering Allure (Manny Franco, Ken McPeek), 4-5
3 Most of All (Jose Lezcano, Bill Mott), 9-2
4 Class Act (Kendrick Carmouche, Todd Pletcher), 6-1
5 Princess Mayfair, (Dylan Davis, Steven Chircop), 8-1
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.
