Paradise prevails in Listed $200K Busher
NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods’ Paradise made her stakes debut a winning one in Saturday’s Listed $200,000 Busher, a one-turn mile for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Trained by dual Eclipse Award-winner Brad Cox and piloted by Manny Franco, the Gun Runner chestnut picked up the maximum allotment of 37.5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on offer by topping the five horse field. The Busher was scheduled to award 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers; however a Championship Series race contested with a five-horse field receives 75 percent of the points proportionally awarded.
Paradise scratched from the Grade 2 Davona Dale later today at Gulfstream Park where Cox will be represented by 9-5 morning-line favorite On Time Girl.
“I cross-entered her at Gulfstream as an insurance plan in case New York didn't run this weekend with all the weather,” said Cox, noting the recent significant snowfall in the New York City metropolitan area. “Obviously, NYRA did a good job getting the track back in good condition, so we took a chance and shipped her, and she responded."
Paradise brushed the gate at the break from post 3 and settled in third as the Jaime Rodriguez-ridden maiden winner Current Yield took command out of post 2 to mark the opening quarter-mile in 23.38 seconds over the good and harrowed track with recent Ruthless runner-up Interstatelovesong pressing from second position.
Current Yield led down the backstretch with Interstatelovesong, who was bumped at the break, continuing to pester as Franco maneuvered Paradise into an outside stalking position to the outside of Nycon with Blazing Brat trailing through a half-mile in 46.75.
“I wanted to make sure she broke good,” Franco said. “After that, I said to Dustin [Dugas, assistant trainer to Cox], 'I'm going to play it by ear.' If the two [Current Yield] and the horse outside goes [Interstatelovesong], I'll make them go and go around them. I wanted to put my filly in a good spot to make a good run, that's what I did, and she responded really well for me."
Interstatelovesong took a narrow lead late in the turn as Current Yield faltered but there would be no denying the outside charge of Paradise, who put a head in front at the stretch call and powered clear to score by 3 3/4-lengths in a final time of 1:38.53. Nycon rallied late to earn place honors and 18.75 points by a neck over Interstatelovesong [11.25 points] with Current Yield [7.5 points] and Blazing Brat [3.75 points] rounding out the order of finish.
“I thought it was encouraging that she was able to sit as close to that pace as she did and finish up the way she did. Obviously, the one filly [Interstatelovesong] stayed on to be third, so they were going quick enough,” Cox said.
Jaime Torres said the Whit Beckman-trained Nycon, a neck second last out in the Cash Run at Gulfstream Park, may have struggled over the Big A main track.
“The filly felt great. I just think the track was pretty deep and the filly didn't like it that much. I think she wants to go longer,” Torres said. “It took a little while to get her going. It was pretty deep out there. To get her at a good speed was a little rough for her, but she came back good. She finished strong. I think all she wants is to go longer."
Paradise landed second on debut sprinting six furlongs in November at Churchill Downs after breaking outward and rallying from seventh-of-11. She followed with a pacesetting three-length score in a one-mile maiden on January 4 at Gulfstream Park.
“I saw the first time she ran, she didn't have to be on the lead. That's what I did, I rode her with confidence. I knew I had a good horse under me, so I rode her with confidence and it paid off,” said Franco, who won this event in 2022 with the New York-bred Venti Valentine.
Cox indicated the performance gave him the confidence that Paradise can stretch out to two turns with the next logical local spot being the nine-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Gazelle, a 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifier, on April 4.
“We'll talk it over with the ownership group but that's probably in the plans to give her the opportunity around two turns,” Cox said. “The Gazelle could be in play. We'll see how things go moving forward and see how she comes out of the race."
Larry Roth of LNJ Foxwoods said he was thrilled with the trip engineered by Franco.
“When I saw [how the race was developing], I knew he had to take her outside, and once she was outside, I knew she was going to finish well. I’m very pleased,” Roth said. “We got [Oaks] points today, and we’re in the mix, but we really don’t know whether she really wants to go that distance. We’ll try and see if she can go longer, and then we’ll see about the Oaks.”
Paradise, a $700,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, is out of the multiple Grade 1-placed Munnings mare Venetian Harbor – a three-time Grade 2-winner [11-4-5-0, $699,400]. Her second dam is multiple stakes-placed Sounds of the City.
Bred in Kentucky by Ciaglia Racing, HNDEH and Domenic Savides, Paradise banked $110,000 in victory while improving her record to 3-2-1-0. She returned $4.72 for a $2 win bet as the 6-5 mutuel favorite.
Live racing resumes Sunday at the Big A with an eight-race card featuring the $135,000 Correction in Race 7. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
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