Turfway: Oaks prep, Kentucky Cup are on Jeff Ruby undercard

Impressive Cincinnati Trophy Stakes winner White Rocks is set to face a field of 12 3-year-old fillies in Saturday’s 43rd running of the listed, $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park.

The Bourbonette Oaks will award the top five finishers 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points toward a spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 2, at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/16-mile Bourbonette Oaks, one of six stakes contests on Jeff Ruby Steaks day, will go as race 11 of 13 with a post time of 5:43 p.m. EDT.

White Rocks, trained by Arnaud Delacour, cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory in the Feb. 21 Cincinnati Trophy under jockey Victor Carrasco. The speedy daughter of Frosted has been based for the winter at Turfway, where she broke her maiden by an eye-catching six lengths on Jan. 16. Carrasco will return to Turfway for the mount in the Bourbonette Oaks and break from post 11.

Admit will attempt to make up 1 1/4 lengths on her rival White Rocks in the Bourbonette Oaks. Trained by Tommy Drury Jr., Admit made her stakes debut in the Cincinnati Trophy, tracking from off the pace to finish second under Irving Moncada. The regally bred daughter of Blame drew post 3 in the Bourbonette Oaks and will be reunited with Moncada.

The third place finisher of the Cincinnati Trophy, Somethinabouther, will return for the Bourbonette Oaks. Somethinabouther’s resume is topped by a victory on Nov. 3 in the Mazarine Stakes (G3) at Woodbine for trainer Brendan Walsh. The daughter of Mendelssohn closed from 11 lengths behind White Rocks in the Cincinnati Trophy to be defeated by only 2 1/2 lengths. Declan Cannon will have the mount from post 2.

Encino returns for Kentucky Cup Classic

Graded-stakes winner Encino is set to return to Turfway to face 10 rivals entered in Saturday’s 25th running of the Kentucky Cup Classic (G3).

Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Kentucky Cup Classic field goes to post at 5:13 p.m. in race 10 of 13. First post is 12:45 p.m.

Trained by Brad Cox, Encino was an impressive winner of the 2024 John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park. Following that race, Encino scored a gutsy three-quarters of a length victory in the Lexington Stakes (G3) at Keeneland but went to the sidelines just before the Preakness Stakes. Now as a 4-year-old, the son of Nyquist returned Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds, cruising to a gate-to-wire victory against allowance company, but he recently disappointed in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2). Jockey Luan Machado will have the call in the Kentucky Cup Classic from post 6.

Encino will face several accomplished rivals in the Kentucky Cup Classic field, including Dust Commander Stakes winner Chiron; graded-stakes placed Lord Bullingdon; Prairie Bayou winner Paros and graded-stakes winner Verstappen.