With the top five finishers receiving 50-25-15-10-5, respectively, on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, Drexel Hill (Bolt d'Oro) proved best and took home the top prize in the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday.
Initially conditioned by Barbara Minshall, the filly broke out of the maiden ranks with a six-length score last fall in what was her fourth attempt at Woodbine. Drexel Hill was then sent to Whit Beckman. The filly finished a well-beaten fifth in the Untapable Stakes in New Orleans Dec. 21, but rebounded to run a respectable third versus stablemate Simply Joking (Practical Joke) in the Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 18.
Shedding the blinkers and sent on her way as a 5-1 shot here, Drexel Hill lacked speed from the bell and was second last up the backstretch. Mounting a charge around the far turn, the dark bay began to pick off opponents entering the lane. The 3-year-old took aim at Amarath (McKinzie) who was looking to spring the upset. Guided by jockey Ben Curtis, Drexel Hill sailed by the longshot and nabbed the Oaks points in the process.
“It's an exclamation point for me,” said trainer Whit Beckman. “For a short career, I've spent so much time up here and it's good to come back and win one. She came out and looked a little flat. He [Ben Curtis] was nudging her along the whole way and down the backside, so I was a little unsure if she was going to fire. Once he got her pointed outside she engaged and once she flattened out down the stretch she responded beautifully.
“Generally horses that break like that and are having to be asked the whole way don't finish so well, but once he got her through the turn and she switched leads she really found another gear. It's never an easy track to close that far on and I was thrilled he was able to get her in the right spot to pick up those last couple of horses.”
The winner's dam is responsible for a 2-year-old filly by Modernist and she foaled a filly by Redesdale last year. Ascot Walk was not reported as bred for this spring.
BUSHER S., $200,000, Aqueduct, 3-1, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:41.46, ft.
1–DREXEL HILL, 118, f, 3, by Bolt d'Oro
1st Dam: Ascot Walk, by Daaher
2nd Dam: Millenia (GB), by Unfuwain
3rd Dam: Sand Pigeon (GB), by Lammtarra
($20,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $50,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Legion Racing; B-Tuscany Bloodstock (KY); T-D. Whitworth Beckman; J-Ben Curtis. $110,000. Lifetime Record: 7-2-2-1, $180,520. *1/2 to Regaled (Mohaymen), GSP, $147,010.
2–Amarth, 118, f, 3, McKinzie–Criminal Mischief, by Into Mischief. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Green Lantern Stables, LLC (KY); T-Eddie Kenneally. $40,000.
3–Volleyballprincess, 120, f, 3, Mo Town–Prom Dress, by Stephen Got Even. ($14,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $14,000 RNA Ylg '23 KEESEP; $17,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Bran Jam Stable and David W. Clark; B-Frank Batten (NC); T-Louis C. Linder, Jr. $24,000.
Margins: 3/4, 4, 4HF. Odds: 5.00, 23.00, 4.60.
Also Ran: Fortuna Mia, Ramify, Sharp Smile, She's Fascinating, Liam in the Dust. Scratched: Nilo's Rose.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
5️⃣0️⃣ points for Drexel Hill on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks!
Jockey:@_benacurtis
Trainer: Whit Beckman
Owner: @LegionBldstk pic.twitter.com/FSfaVgGuDn— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) March 1, 2025
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