Aqueduct: Gin Gin powers home in stretch to win Busanda

Calumet Farm’s Kentucky homebred Gin Gin made her first step on the road to the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks with an off-the-pace score in Saturday’s $100,000 Busanda Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile test for sophomore fillies at Aqueduct.

For her victory, Gin Gin earned the maximum allotment of 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points to the top five finishers towards the Oaks on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

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Trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox and expertly piloted to victory by Trevor McCarthy, the daughter of Hightail rebounded from an even, fifth-place finish in the Golden Rod (G2) in November at Churchill Downs to earn her first victory against winners in style, pouncing from 2 1/2 lengths off the pace to take command late and cruise home to a one-length victory.

“I thought she ran great. Trevor gave her a great trip,” Cox said. “She sat behind the leader, and when he tipped her out turning for home, she responded well. Once she cleared off, she was kind of looking around a little bit, but overall I’m proud of the effort.”

Gin Gin emerged from the inside post in good order as Dylan Davis-piloted Princess Mayfair broke outward from the outermost post 5. The Steven Chircop-trained filly quickly cleared the field to assume the inside position in the first turn and mark an opening quarter-mile at 24.01 seconds over the muddy and sealed footing.

Sharp starting Most of All kept watch from second up the backstretch. Post-time 4-5 favorite Shimmering Allure, who won the one-mile Tempted in November and entered from a runner-up effort in the Demoiselle (G2), battled for third with Gin Gin and Class Act.

Princess Mayfair maintained her advantage through a half-mile in 47.93 seconds and three quarters in 1:12.19 before Gin Gin proved game under coaxing and Shimmering Allure went widest of all in pursuit of the lead.

McCarthy angled Gin Gin off the rail to make an outside run at Princess Mayfair rounding the turn and glided with ease past an all-out Most of All to take dead aim at the pacesetter. Shimmering Allure tried in vain to make up ground down the center of the course and inched closer to Most of All, but the top pair began to draw well clear of the field down the lane.

A resolute Princess Mayfair dug in gamely in deep stretch, but there was no denying the momentum of Gin Gin, who kicked clear of her rival near the sixteenth marker and crossed the wire first with a final time of 1:53.31.

Shimmering Allure finished nine lengths behind Princess Mayfair to claim show honors by 3 1/4 lengths over Most of All. Class Act completed the order of finish.

McCarthy, aboard Gin Gin for the first time in the afternoon, said he expected the talented bay to handle the track conditions after she posted a runner-up effort two starts back in the 1 1/16-mile Rags to Riches over sloppy and sealed going in October at Churchill Downs.

“She ran one good race going two turns on a wet track at Churchill, and I thought if I could work out a really good trip, we could win today,” McCarthy said. “We worked out a perfect trip, and she gave me a great effort.

“(Princess Mayfair) looked pretty good out there, but I checked up on mine at the five-sixteenths pole when I asked her to get through, and I knew my horse was traveling well and would have plenty in the tank to finish with.”

Cox said he was pleased to see Gin Gin handle 1 1/8 miles in her first attempt at the distance.

“I was a touch concerned if she would want to go a mile-and-an-eighth, and she put my doubts to rest today with her performance,” Cox said. “She’s a very good looking filly and has always trained well in the mornings. I’m glad she was able to add a stakes win to her résumé. It’s a big update for her and Calumet.”

Cox said Gin Gin likely will be pointed next to the 1 1/8-mile Gazelle (G3) on April 6 at the Big A.

“I think so,” Cox said. “I’ll talk it over with Mr. (Brad) Kelley and Eddie Kane from Calumet and come up with a game plan, but I don’t see why we would ship her anywhere right now with her settling in and training well at Belmont.”

Gin Gin adds to a résumé that includes a second-out victory in a seven-furlong maiden tilt in September at Churchill. She banked $55,000 in victory Saturday and improved her lifetime record to 5: 2-2-0 while returning $7.60 on a $2 win ticket.

Second-place Princess Mayfair entered from a similar, pacesetting, runner-up effort against males in a 1 1/16-mile Woodbine allowance over Tapeta in December, just two weeks after a second-out, maiden score sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs.

?Chircop said he was proud of the effort from the daughter of West Coast and that she could also target the Gazelle next.

“We’ll definitely have a look at that,” Chircop said of the Gazelle. “We’ll probably run her one more time before that. We’ll see how she comes out of it. I’m sure this trip is going to take a lot out of her, but I really don’t think we’ve seen the best of this horse yet.

“I couldn’t have asked for her to go into this race any better. She ran a hell of a race, but it doesn’t surprise me. We weren’t coming here just to participate.”

Chircop said Princess Mayfair encountered issues shipping to New York on Saturday morning from Penn National. The van she was traveling on broke down more than an hour into the journey. The filly was returned to Penn National, and Chircop swiftly made other arrangements to get the filly to Aqueduct for her dirt debut.