Bourbonette is Anybody's Ballgame

The $150,000 Pure Romance Bourbonette Stakes (gr. III) March 21 at Turfway Park is a 100-proof handicapping challenge. The mile race on Polytrack has drawn a full field of 12 (with a pair of also-eligibles) with no clear-cut choice, but plenty of intriguing angles from which to ponder.



Glenn Sorgenstein's W.C. Racing's Sharla Rae has perhaps the best synthetic surface experience in the field, but ships in to northern Kentucky from Southern California. The Kentucky-bred Afleet Alex   filly rallied from fifth last time out, Feb. 7 at Golden Gate Fields, to win the California Oaks at 1 1/16 miles over Tapeta. She also landed the mile Pike Place Dancer Stakes at Golden Gate last October. Her two wins, along with a fourth in last year's Sorrento Stakes (gr. II) on the Polytrack at Del Mar puts plenty of all-weather "bottom" underneath her.



Locally, Bossy and Flat Deposit enter the Bourbonette off second- and third-place efforts, respectively, in the Feb. 22 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Bossy, by Street Boss  , was accomplished on turf in a pair of starts in December at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and broke her maiden second time out on Arlington International's Polytrack last September.



Flat Deposit, owned by James Thompson's Final Furlong Farm, chased Bossy Dec. 11 in New Orleans. At Turfway, she made a middle move to get in front of Bossy in the Cincy Trophy, but faded to finish third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Bossy.



Flat Deposit is one of three in the field trained by Mike Maker. His others are for his main owners, Ken and Sarah Ramsey, and are both homebred daughters of Kitten's Joy  . Walking the Kitten, who drew post 2, has wintered at Gulfstream Park where she was fifth in her last outing Feb. 16 in an allowance optional claimer on the turf. The winner that day was Lismore, who came back to run third in the March 7 Florida Oaks (gr. IIIT). Walking the Kitten has made all four of her starts on turf and has kept good company throughout.



Right On Kitten was fourth in the Cincinnati Trophy after a poor effort as the 8-5 favorite in the Ginger Brew Stakes Jan. 3 at Gulfstream. At 2, she broke her maiden first-time out and won the $100,000 Senorita Stakes over the Retama Park turf course. Rajiv Maragh has the call.



James F. Miller's Harlan's Destiny, a homebred Harlan's Holiday filly, polished off her 2-year-old campaign with four successive wins, all coming at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. Three of those wins have come against West Virginia-breds. The bay filly, trained by Wayne Catalano, has wintered at Fair Grounds and brings a string of works to the table at Turfway.



Pin Oak Stable's homebred Don't Leave Me also makes her 2015 bow in the Bourbonette. A handy winner of her first two starts on Woodbine's Polytrack last summer, the daughter of Lemon Drop Kid   was sixth in her finale, the mile Natalma Stakes (Can-IIT) in mid-September. She is out of She How She Runs, Josephine Abercrombie's sharp Maria's Mon mare, who won the Fantasy Stakes (gr. II) and Selene Stakes (Can-IT) in 2002.



G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Sweet Success, a maiden winner Feb. 8 going six furlongs on the dirt at Gulfstream, is by Candy Ride   out of Aspiring, by Seeking the Gold. Aspiring is out of blue hen mare Weekend Surprise, the dam of classic winners A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.



WinStar Farm's Super Saver  , the second-leading first-crop sire last year, is represented by a pair in the Bourbonette: stakes-placed Back Flip and College Holly, a recent maiden winner at Oaklawn.