Busher a Ruthless Redux

The top four finishers in the Jan. 14 Ruthless Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack will wheel back Feb. 24 for the Busher Stakes. The key will be how the 3-year-old fillies shake out as they stretch out from the six-furlong Ruthless to the 1 1/16-mile Busher.

The Busher, despite being a non-graded race, is a major step on the road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).  The $150,000 race offers 50 points to the winner in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks standings. Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar (who defeated Beholder), won the Busher in 2013.

Danny Chen’s Yorkiepoo Princess was the runaway winner of the Ruthless at 4-5, drawing clear in the stretch by 7 1/2 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr. The daughter of Kantharos   was an $8,000 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. 2-year-old and broke her maiden for a $62,500 claiming tag in October, but clearly has turned into a corker for trainer Edward Barker.

In her wake in the Ruthless was Tiz Rae Anna, who has drawn the rail for the Busher. The bay filly by Tiz Wonderful broke her maiden in October at Belmont Park and was claimed for $50,000 by Bran Jam Stable. Third in the Ruthless while closing from fifth was Banty's Girl, trained by Tom Albertrani; and fourth was Stonestreet Stables’ Bride Street, a filly by Street Cry who is a half sister to 2010 Southwest Stakes (G3) winner Conveyance  .

Of note of the new challengers are Curragh Stables’ Heavenly Score, a recent maiden winner from John Terranova’s barn. The connections struck Feb. 20 with Caledonian in the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.

Drawing outside are Midwest Thoroughbreds’ Spanish Harlem (post 8), a filly by More Than Ready   out of a half sister to Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) winner Buddha; and No Sweat (post 10), Starlight Racing’s filly by Blame   out of the late James Tafel’s Coolwin. The Todd Pletcher-trained No Sweat exits a third-place finish in the Jan. 15 Busanda Stakes at a mile and 70 yards. That effort came after a maiden-breaker at Parx Racing at a mile in November.