Kentucky Oaks spot on the line in Busher on Saturday at Aqueduct

By NY Hot List Staff | Thursday, March 3, 2022

A prep race for a major stakes at Churchill Downs will take place Saturday at Aqueduct. No, we’re not talking about the Gotham Stakes, a prep for the Kentucky Derby. Instead, Saturday’s Busher Invitational offers a total of 85 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks with the winner assured of a spot in the field for the May 6 Grade 1 stakes. An evenly matched field of six was entered for the Busher, making it an interesting betting affair.

Here are the Hot List picks for the Busher Invitational:

The $250,000 Busher Invitational, Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 9

The Busher is a [50-20-10-5] points qualifier on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. (6) Radio Days ships up from Shug McGaughey’s Florida base at Payson Park to stretch out to a mile. She won her first two starts in New York convincingly including an allowance at Aqueduct in December. She was second in the seven-furlong Forward Gal (G3) at Gulfstream with a late rally. (5) Magic Circle has never run a bad race in her career. She won the Busanda at Aqueduct last time with a front-end effort going nine-furlongs. She was third in the Demoiselle (G2) before that. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez goes for his third victory in the Busher. (4) Venti Valentine won her first two starts against NY-breds and then missed winning the Demoiselle at the Big A by a neck behind a talented filly in Nest. (3) Morning Matcha was second in her two starts at Aqueduct shipping up from Parx. She used a late rally in a NY Stallion Series stake and then the Busanda to get those place finishes.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.