Desk Farms’ Helen Belen, who romped by nearly 15 lengths in the Valdale Stakes last out, is one of a trio of 3-year-old fillies highweighted at 121 pounds for the $125,000 Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III) March 27 at Turfway Park.
The one-mile Bourbonette, to be run over the Polytrack, is one of six stakes on a Turfway card headlined by the $500,000 Lane’s End Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-olds. The Bourbonette, with an approximate post time of 4:08 p.m. EST, is race 7 on the 12-race program.
Also carrying 121 pounds are Age of Humor, winner of the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct in January, and Lisa's Kitten, a stakes winner at Retama Park last year but a disappointing 10th in the Valdale during a troubled trip. Both horses are trained by Mike Maker.
Helen Belen, trained by Bill Denzik Jr., went wire-to-wire in her 14 3/4-length score in the one-mile Valdale, which was the local prep for the Bourbonette. The daughter of Five Star Day has made all four of her career starts at Turfway, with her lone setback coming in the 6 1/2-furlong Cincinnati Trophy Stakes Jan. 16 when placing third in her season debut. In that race, the bay filly was defeated by current entrant Cactus Cadillac.
Sal Gonzalez Jr. will have the mount on Helen Belen, who is out of the Cherokee Run mare Waterford Express, and was bred in Kentucky by Dr. and Mrs. R. S. West and Mackenzie Miller. They will break from post 4.
Twin Creeks Racing’s Age of Humor enters off a distant third-place effort in the grade III Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds Feb. 20. In her 3-year-old debut, the daughter of Distorted Humor went gate to wire to win the Busanda Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths on Aqueduct’s inner track. Russell Baze has the mount.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred Lisa’s Kitten had to be steadied heading into the first turn in the Valdale and was never able to recover in her first start on Polytrack and season debut. As a juvenile, the Kitten's Joy filly broke her maiden at Belmont Park and followed up with a win in the La Senorita Stakes at Retama. The chestnut filly concluded her season with off-the-board efforts in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita and the Caressing Handicap at Churchill Downs.
Stake winner Cascading, from the barn of Josie Carroll, returns to the Polytrack after a failed 10th-place finish in the Jan. 31 Forward Gal (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park in her first start on dirt. The A.P. Indy filly won two of three starts as a juvenile at Woodbine, including the Glorious Song Stakes in November. Francisco Torres has the mount.
Turfway's leading rider Rex Stokes has the call on Cactus Cadillac, a winner in three of her last four starts.
$125,000 Bourbonette Oaks (gr. III, Race 7, 4:08 p.m.), 3YO Fillies, 1 Mile (Polytrack) PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Midway Holiday (KY), V Lebron, 115, G D Foley
2. Cascading (KY), F C Torres, 115, J Carroll
3. Cactus Cadillac (KY), R A Stokes III, 115, D E Pate
4. Helen Belen (KY), S Gonzalez Jr., 121, W J Denzik Jr.
5. Lisa's Kitten (KY), C H Velasquez, 121, M J Maker
6. Allegation (FL), C P DeCarlo, 115, M E Casse
7. Orchestrator (KY), A O Solis, 115, K G McPeek
8. Delitefully Wild (KY), A De Leon, 115, T E Hamm
9. Age of Humor (KY), R A Baze, 121, M J Maker
10. Absinthe Minded (KY), 3/F LA* C H Borel, 117, D W Lukas
