Kentucky Oaks hopefuls go long in the Busanda Stakes

The $100,000 Busanda is the third of five qualifying races at Aqueduct on the New York road to the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. The 1 1/8-mile prep race, which drew a field of five 3-year-old fillies, is the first to offer the increased points of 20-10-6-4-2 this year.

Recent winners of the Busanda include Occult last year who became a Grade 3 winner, eventual Grade 1 winner Harvey’s Lil Goil in 2020, Always Shopping in 2019 who became a multiple-graded stakes winner and the $2 million earner Princess of Sylmar in 2013.

Here is a full-field analysis for the Busanda with morning-line odds from the Horse Racing Nation staff. The Busanda has three fillies who already have won Oaks qualifying points. It is scheduled as race six of nine with post time set for 2:47 p.m. EST.

1. Gin Gin, 5-2. Hightail – Brad Cox / Trevor McCarthy – 4: 1-2-0 - $127,508. Gin Gin picked up six Oaks points from her fifth-place finish in the Golden Rod (G2) in November and a second in the Rags to Riches. The Calumet Farm homebred got her maiden victory on the front end at Churchill going seven furlongs in September. Win contender.

2. Shimmering Allure, 7-5. Enticed – Kenny McPeek / Manny Franco– 7: 2-3-0 - $239,095. Shimmering Allure will make her third start on the road to the Oaks, where she earned seven qualifying points from a second in the Demoiselle and a fourth in the Alcibiades (G1). The Kenny McPeek runner has run seven times, earning the most money of any filly in the Busanda field. Between the two points races, she took down the Tempted at Aqueduct using a closing move from seventh to win by three lengths. Her seven races came at five tracks. Top choice.

3. Most of All, 4-1. Quality Road – Bill Mott / Jose Lezcano – 4: 1-0-0 - $65,916. Most of All will make her second start in a Kentucky Oaks qualifier after pressing the pace in the Demoiselle (G2) last month and finishing fourth. This Godolphin homebred broke her maiden in October in her third race by almost 11 lengths in a race that was meant for the turf but was run on a sloppy track. Bill Mott has won the Busanda three times. Toss.

4. Class Act, 7-2. Street Sense – Todd Pletcher / Kendrick Carmouche – 3: 1-0-0 - $58,750. Class Act broke her maiden in the third start of her career at Aqueduct in December with a front-end effort going the nine-furlong distance in a field of four. Her two previous starts were at Churchill Downs when she got out of the gate poorly against large fields and finished fifth and then fourth. Trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Busanda four times. Use underneath.

5. Princess Mayfair, 8-1. West Coast – Steven Chircop / Dylan Davis – 3: 1-1-0 - $43,431. Princess Mayfair ships from Woodbine where she made all three of her career starts on the synthetic racing surfaces. She was a front-end maiden winner in December in a sprint and then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in an allowance, where she was again on the lead but finished second. When Woodbine closed for the winter, the daughter of West Coast went to train at Penn National and worked this month. Toss.

Summary: Like the Jerome last weekend, the Busanda has a small field but presents an interesting handicapping challenge. Three of the fillies have run the nine-furlong distance, and at this time of year the Aqueduct surface tends to be deep and tiring. Three members of the field have a victory over the track. Three horses have already earned points on the Kentucky Oaks trail.

Shimmering Allure checks all three of those boxes. After winning the Tempted in November, trainer McPeek left her at Belmont Park to continue on the New York road to the Oaks. The daughter of Enticed has speed figures in her last three starts that are better than any number from the rest of the field. All told, Shimmering Allure will be the favorite and the top choice.