Lake Avenue Returns to Challenge Busher Field

Godolphin's graded stakes winner Lake Avenue returns from a brief freshening against seven others in the $250,000 Busher Invitational Stakes for sophomore fillies March 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The one-turn mile, named in honor of the 1945 Horse of the Year, offers 50-20-10-5 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying points to the top four finishers. It served as a springboard for 2013 Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar.

Lake Avenue acquired 10 points with a wire-to-wire, four-length score in the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle Stakes (G2) Dec. 7. She is eighth on the Oaks leaderboard.

Trained by Bill Mott, the chestnut daughter of Tapit  has breezed consistently at Payson Park Training Center in Florida, including a half-mile move in :49 3/5 March 2.

"She put in two very good efforts at Aqueduct and has been doing awesome since December," Darley America president Jimmy Bell said. "We gave her a little Christmas break after the Demoiselle. Since she came back, her works have been steady. You have to get started sometime, and it looks like the right distance. You know she likes the track, and there's just a lot of things that would lead you to want to be here."

Lake Avenue is out of the Street Cry mare Seventh Street, who won the 2009 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn Park and Go for Wand Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course for Godolphin.

Lake Avenue broke her maiden at second asking at the Big A, going seven furlongs while displaying the same frontrunning style she had in the Demoiselle, drawing off to a 12 3/4-length victory. She was second on debut, finishing a length behind Power Move, who placed in the Tempted Stakes in her next start.

"I would like for her to become a grade 1 winner and give her another similarity to her mother," Bell said. "I think both are very genuine. We're cautiously optimistic for a successful campaign with her this year."

Junior Alvarado has piloted Lake Avenue in all three of her starts and will ride again from post 5.

"I think Billy and Junior work well in tandem," Bell said. "They take each race as they find it. The filly has shown ability from seven furlongs to nine furlongs, which makes her very dimensional."

Maedean, another Tapit offspring, will also be making her first start since the Demoiselle, where she was a late-closing second.

Owned by Donald and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farms, Maedean made her two-turn debut in the Demoiselle after a win in the Nov. 1 Tempted Stakes at the Big A, where she broke a step slow, tracked the pace from fourth, made a four-wide move around the turn, and battled with a foe down the stretch but gained momentum in the final furlong, drawing off to a 5 1/2-length victory.

A $450,000 acquisition from the Stone Farm consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Maedean is out of the Arch mare Summer Solo, who finished third in the 2014 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) on turf.

"She's doing excellent," trainer Mark Hennig said. "The race is a good starting point. Ultimately, she wants more ground."

Fresh off a win aboard Maximum Security in the Saudi Cup last weekend, jockey Luis Saez will be back aboard Maedean from post 4.

Trainer Michael Stidham, who sent out Saguaro Row to a victory in the Interborough Stakes earlier in the meet, will seek another stakes win at the Big A when entering stakes-placed Mo City.

Owned by Rick Kanter, the bay daughter of Uncle Mo  has made both of her starts at Tampa Bay Downs. She arrives at the Busher off a narrow second-place finish in the Jan. 18 Gasparilla Stakes.

Mo City enters with two bullet breezes under her belt, including a half-mile in :47 2/5 on the Tampa Bay Downs main track Feb. 28.

"She's always one that is pretty aggressive in the morning," Stidham said. "She shows good speed and is willing. We're stretching out to a mile off that seven-furlong race where she made up some ground in the end. We're taking a shot to see if she can handle the added distance, and we feel that she should."

Mo City is out of the Carson City mare City Sister and is a half sister to 2010 Demoiselle winner Dixie City as well as Union City, the dam of three-time graded stakes winner Unified .

Jockey Manny Franco has the call aboard Mo City from post 1.

Entries: Busher Invitational S.

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, March 07, 2020, Race 9

• STK
• 1m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:14 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Mo City (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	Michael Stidham	6/1
2	2Kansas Kis (KY)	Eric Cancel	118	Raymond Handal	15/1
3	3Panthera Onca (KY)	Jose Lezcano	118	Brad H. Cox	15/1
4	4Maedean (KY)	Luis Saez	120	Mark A. Hennig	5/2
5	5Lake Avenue (KY)	Junior Alvarado	123	William I. Mott	1/1
6	6Water White (KY)	Jorge A. Vargas, Jr.	118	Rudy R. Rodriguez	8/1
7	7Persisto (KY)	Dylan Davis	118	Kelly J. Breen	12/1
8	8Inveterate (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	Dermot Magner	20/1