Kentucky Oaks prep: Living Magic leads full Cincinnati Trophy

Two-time stakes winner Living Magic tops an oversubscribed field of 14 3-year-old fillies entered for Friday’s 42nd running of the $150,000 Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway Park, a points prep on the road to the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.

Run at one mile with a maximum 12 starters, the Cincinnati Trophy will go as race 6 with a post time of 8:25 p.m. EST. Friday’s nine-race program will get underway at 5:55 p.m. EST.

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The Cincinnati Trophy, annually used as a prep for the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks on March 23, will award the top five finishers 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks on May 3.

Owned by HnR Nothhaft and trained by Phil Schoenthal, Living Magic enters the Cincinnati Trophy after gamely defeating nine rivals in the Chelsey Flower Stakes at Aqueduct during her 2-year-old season. The homebred daughter of Justify also found stakes glory when she vanned to Woodbine and prevailed in a photo finish in the My Dear Stakes. Jockey Tyler Conner will have the mount on Living Magic in the Cincinnati Trophy from post 4.

Multiple stakes-placed Sistina Chapel, owned by Bronwood Farm, will break one post to Living Magic’s inside. Under the care of Kenny McPeek, Sistina Chapel finished third in the Silverbulletday to top 3-year-old filly prospects West Omaha and Perfect Shot. A daughter of Liam’s Map, Sistina Chapel will have the riding services of Julien Leparoux, who was aboard the filly when she broke her maiden Nov. 11 at Churchill Downs.

With Barbratina and Impel, trainer Brad Cox tries to win the race for the third consecutive time, having done so last year with Botanical and in 2022 with Bubble Rock.

Barbratina is a recent allowance runner-up for Swiftbank Stables, Big Tufff Stables, Steve Adkisson and Tommy Humphries. After finishing two lengths behind fellow Cincinnati Trophy rival Dazzlin Dictator in a first-level allowance Jan. 5, she will break from post 6 under Axel Concepción.

Impel, an impressive, maiden special-weight winner for Juddmonte, needs one defection to compete in the race. The daughter of Quality Road scored a 3 1/4-length debut victory on New Year’s Day at Fair Grounds under jockey Florent Géroux. If she draws into the Cincinnati Trophy, she will be ridden by leading jockey Luan Machado.