Two-time stakes winner Laobanonaprayer has already proved she can win at a one-turn mile and will look to replicate that effort against the most talented field she's faced in her young career March 6 in the $250,000 Busher Invitational for sophomore fillies at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The Busher offers qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 scale to the top four finishers toward a spot in the starting gate for the April 30 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs. It is one of four stakes on a packed day at the Big A, where the card is highlighted by the $300,000 Gotham Stakes (G3), a Road to the Kentucky Derby event.
Laobanonaprayer, owned and trained by Daniel Velazquez, has never finished off the board in five starts, compiling a 2-2-1 ledger with a field-high $252,400 in earnings. After a third-place debut effort in September at Delaware Park followed by a runner-up effort over the same track in October, the Laoban filly broke her maiden in impressive fashion with a 5 1/2-length score over fellow New York-breds in the Oct. 24 Maid of the Mist Stakes going a mile at Belmont Park.
She concluded her juvenile campaign with an eight-length win in the Dec. 6 New York Stallion Stakes Series Fifth Avenue Stakes before running second in the 6 1/2-furlong Franklin Square in her 2021 debut. She was 1 1/2 lengths behind Secret Love in that Jan. 16 start at Aqueduct.
Velazquez said inclement weather at his Parx Racing base interrupted Laobanonaprayer's training schedule leading up to and following the Franklin Square. The talented filly has recently posted a pair of sharp works, including a five-furlong effort in 1:01.61 Feb. 27 over the Parx main track in her final breeze before shipping to New York.
"She's been doing good, and we've gotten the works that we've needed," Velazquez said. "We're excited to see open company and the level change. I think this race sets up perfect. I know that I hit every work that I needed to hit. Now, it's just a matter of her having the talent and ability and getting a good trip to get the win."
Velazquez said he's been impressed with his filly's improvement overall since starting her career in September.
"She's calmed down a lot," Velazquez said. "She was a bit of a hyper filly, and she still is, but that edge is there for racing; she's just getting a little more mature. She's always been a big filly, and she's gotten a little wider and a little stronger."
Meet-leading rider Kendrick Carmouche has the call from post 2.
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown seeks his first Busher win, sending out a pair of formidable contenders in Klaravich Stables' Search Results and Louis Lazzinnaro's The Grass Is Blue.
Search Results, unraced as a juvenile, won her first race with an impressive four-length score Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park. The Flatter filly was a $310,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and will be well-rested entering her second career start after training at Payson Park. Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will pick up the mount from post 3.
"We gave her some time since that race to recover and get in a good rhythm with her works," Brown said. "She seems ready to run again now."
The Grass Is Blue added blinkers last out for a winning effort Jan. 24 at Aqueduct, besting Coffee Bar by one length to win the 1 1/8-mile Busanda. That victory netted the Broken Vow filly 10 Kentucky Oaks points, placing her 14th on the current leaderboard, and marked her third win overall in five starts.
After running sixth in the Songbird Stakes in November at Keeneland—the only time in five starts she failed to place—The Grass Is Blue ran third in the Dec. 26 Anne Arundel County Stakes at Laurel Park before earning a return trip to the winner's circle in her first 2021 start next out.
"She's really come along nicely in her development," Brown said. "I didn't want to cut her back in distance, but she's been thriving in New York this winter in the environment, and I didn't want to take that away from her. She was sharper with the blinkers on and pulling on Manny a bit, so maybe a cutback won't hurt her."
Manny Franco has the call from post 4.
Team D and Madaket Stables' Miss Brazil followed a maiden-breaking win at second asking Nov. 29 at the Big A with a 6 1/4-length gate-to-wire score under Eric Cancel in the Ruthless Stakes going seven furlongs Feb. 8 over the same track in making her first start as a 3-year-old.
A daughter of Palace Malice, Miss Brazil has given her connections optimism that the one-turn mile should not be an issue, with trainer Tony Dutrow saying a strong performance could open up the potential to run even longer as the year progresses. Cancel has the return call from the inside post.
Gary Barber's Make Mischief will have a quick turnaround after winning the Feb. 20 Maddie May Stakes by a neck at Aqueduct. Contested at the Busher's distance, the Maddie May saw Make Mischief shoot up the rail to overtake Brattle House in the final furlong. She will return just two weeks later looking to build on a stellar 3-3-0 record through seven starts.
"She came out of that race good, so we're running," trainer Chris Englehart said. "She's a big, strong filly. Last race, coming up the fence the way she did, she showed a lot of courage."
Make Mischief was trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse for her 2-year-old campaign, where she put in runner-up efforts in the Schuylerville Stakes (G3), Adirondack Stakes (G2), and the Seeking the Ante Stakes during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.
Barber sent Make Mischief to the New York-based Englehart for the start of her 3-year-old year to get ready to compete for the winter meet with great success, as Make Mischief is 2-for-2 at the track, starting with a 3 1/2-length win against allowance optional claimers going seven furlongs Jan. 31, resulting in a career-best 74 Beyer Speed Figure.
Dylan Davis will have the call from post 6.
Late Night Stables' Mo Desserts will step up to stakes company for the first time, looking to build on a maiden-breaking 15 1/2-length score against a five-horse field at the Busher distance Feb. 8 for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.
The Nyquist filly started her career with big expectations, selling for $300,000 at The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale, in 2019. Unraced as a juvenile, she ran third on debut in a six-furlong sprint Jan. 10 at Aqueduct before an emphatic win next out when Pablo Morales rode for the first time. Morales has the return engagement from post 5.
Thankful, Lake Avenue Head Heavenly Prize
Previous stakes-winning distaffers over the Aqueduct main track will return to action when Thankful and Lake Avenue face six additional fillies and mares in Saturday's sixth running of the $125,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational going a one-turn mile at the Big A.
Arriving off a score in the nine-furlong Ladies Handicap Jan. 17 at Aqueduct is Bass Stables' Thankful, who displayed tactical speed, battling in the upper stretch with pacesetter Miss Marissa before taking control inside the sixteenth-pole for a three-quarter length win for trainer Todd Pletcher.
The 4-year-old daughter of American Pharoah broke her maiden at third asking going nine furlongs Aug. 20 at Saratoga before shortening up to a one-turn mile victory against winners Sept. 27 at Belmont.
Prior to notching her Ladies triumph, Thankful was a distant third to Mrs. Danvers in the Nov. 27 Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct.
"She's training well," said Pletcher's assistant Byron Hughes. "We'd like to go two turns with her, but we know she'll handle the one turn with no problem. She's holding her weight well. She's full of energy, and I'm happy the way she's doing."
Thankful is out of the Cat Thief mare Beholden and was bought for $625,000 at The Saratoga Sale in 2018.
Breaking from post 2, Thankful will be piloted by leading rider Carmouche.
Godolphin's Lake Avenue boasts a record of two triumphs in three starts over the Aqueduct main track and returns to the Big A following a Gulfstream Park allowance optional claiming score for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
The daughter of Tapit out of two-time grade 1 winner Seventh Street made her Big A debut a winning one in November 2019 when a second career start resulted in a wire-to-wire 12 3/4-length romp going seven furlongs. Lake Avenue parlayed such winning ways into graded stakes company when leading at every point of call to win the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) going nine furlongs at Aqueduct.
After three consecutive losses, Lake Avenue received some time off and returned from a six-month layoff with a disappointing sixth in a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming event on Nov. 26 at Churchill Downs.
Lake Avenue made amends in her last start, overcoming a slow start before rallying into contention to power home a 4 1/2 length winner in the seven-furlong sprint.
"That might've been as good a performance as she's had," said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin USA. "The Churchill race was a head-scratcher, but the time off was obviously an important aspect of it. Billy gave her some fresh sunshine in Florida down at Payson. She's obviously very effective off the bench, and I'm hoping that was the missing ingredient."
Lake Avenue arrives off a bullet half-mile work in :48 3/5 at Payson, fastest of 36 recorded works at the distance on the day.
Manny Franco has the call from post 8.
Portal Creek, Gone Glimmering, Landing Zone, Flashndynamite, Needs Supervision, and Halo City complete the field.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, March 6, 2021, Race 6 Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, March 6, 2021, Race 8Entries: Busher Invitational S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Miss Brazil (KY) Eric Cancel 120 Anthony W. Dutrow 2/1 2 2Laobanonaprayer (NY) Kendrick Carmouche 118 Daniel Velazquez 5/1 3 3Search Results (KY) Javier Castellano 118 Chad C. Brown 7/2 4 4The Grass Is Blue (KY) Manuel Franco 120 Chad C. Brown 5/1 5 5Mo Desserts (KY) Pablo Morales 118 James A. Jerkens 5/2 6 6Make Mischief (NY) Dylan Davis 118 Chris J. Englehart 8/1
Entries: Heavenly Prize Invitational S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Gone Glimmering (KY) Eric Cancel 120 Linda Rice 8/1 2 2Thankful (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 122 Todd A. Pletcher 9/5 3 3Landing Zone (KY) Victor R. Carrasco 118 Claudio A. Gonzalez 6/1 4 4Flashndynamite (FL) Dylan Davis 118 Michael M. Moore 20/1 5 5Portal Creek (KY) Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. 120 Juan Carlos Guerrero 6/1 6 6Needs Supervision (KY) Trevor McCarthy 118 Jeremiah O'Dwyer 12/1 7 7Halo City (KY) Pablo Morales 118 Natalia Lynch 50/1 8 8Lake Avenue (KY) Manuel Franco 118 William I. Mott 8/5
