Six sophomore fillies were entered in the $100,000 Busanda Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on Thursday at Aqueduct.
The race is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races and offers up 10-4-2-1 points toward the respective top four finishers.
Of the half-dozen runners, only two have prior stakes experience – Midnight Disguise and Oldfashioned Style.
Midnight Disguise romped in her debut by 6 1/2 lengths, a one-mile maiden claimer, then recorded a two-length victory in a six-furlong allowance. Both of those came at Aqueduct, and the Linda Rice-trained daughter of Midnight Lute stayed at the Big A to make her stakes bow in the East View Stakes about a week and half ago on January 14.
Midnight Disguise filled the second spot in that eight-furlong affair under Trevor McCarthy, who retains the mount for the Busanda on Thursday.
Oldfashioned Style has a bit more black-type experience than Midnight Disguise, competing thrice in the stakes ranks thus far.
The Gary Contessa pupil was sixth in her debut at Belmont Park last June, then broke her maiden in an off-the-turf Saratoga contest two weeks later. Another two weeks and four days later the Old Fashioned filly finally tried turf, finishing seventh in the P.G. Johnson Stakes.
Since then, Oldfashioned Style has stayed on the main track, running second in the Tempted Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct on November 3 and closing out her juvenile campaign with a sixth-placing in the Gin Talking Stakes at Laurel Park on December 30. Chris DeCarlo has the call in the Busanda.
Of the remaining four entrants in the race, two broke their maidens last out and the other pair tried allowance/optional claiming rivals.
Wealth Effect will be making only her second start on the main track in the Busanda after running sixth in her debut on turf, capturing her maiden on the grass and then filling the third spot in an allowance/optional claimer over Aqueduct’s sod. She switched to Aqueduct’s dirt last out on December 29 for trainer Chad Brown and just missed by a half-length.
Incleveland also began her career with a sixth-placing on the turf, but rebounded next out to break her maiden by 2 1/4 lengths on the main track at Parx Racing. She finished third against allowance/optional claiming rivals at Aqueduct most recently on December 29.
Take Charge Tina wired her maiden by 7 3/4 lengths going a mile at Parx Racing in her third career start for trainer Tom Albertrani on December 18. Trainer Bill Mott sent out Hail to post a 3 3/4-length maiden victory at Aqueduct in her second lifetime effort at Aqueduct on December 30.
