Espresso Shot in Kentucky Oaks hunt with Busher victory

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Espresso Shot made the successful jump from restricted races to open stakes company Saturday by rallying from last under Eric Cancel to win the $250,000 Busher Invitational Stakes by three-quarters of a length at Aqueduct.

Oxy Lady, with a difficult trip, finished second by a head over Orra Moor, who was third by a head over Please Flatter Me. Oxy Lady was vanned off after the race due to concerns over lameness.

Jack Sisterson, Oxy Lady's trainer, said later Saturday that the filly was walking sound at the barn and just had superficial cuts on her left front ankle. Sisterson also wanted to apologize to - and congratulate - Espresso Shot's connections for lodging a claim of foul against their filly. Oxy Lady had to check just above the eighth pole, but the problem was caused by Please Flatter Me, who came out in the stretch and forced Orra Moor to come out in front of Oxy Lady. The stewards lit the inquiry sign, but took no action as Please Flatter Me finished behind the horses she impeded.

Espresso Shot, coming off a victory in the East View Stakes against New York-breds on Dec. 29, had relatively smooth sailing.

Kept in the back of the pack early by Eric Cancel, Espresso Shot was never more than five lengths off the pace.

Excess Capacity set the pace hounded by Orra Moor, Please Flatter Me, and Filly Joel, who were tightly bunched through a quarter in 23.51 seconds and a half-mile in 46.58.

Cancel launched a wide bid entering the far turn and Espresso Shot came five wide for the stretch drive.

While Please Flatter Me, Orra Moor, and Filly Joel fought on, Espresso Shot was going the better of the quartet and edged away late.

Oxy Lady, guided to the outside by Castellano after checking hard above the eighth pole, rallied to get second.

Espresso Shot, a daughter of Mission Impazbible owned by NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and trained by Jorge Abreu, covered the mile in 1:37.69 and returned $10.20 as the third choice.

“I had her in behind horses to get her to settle down just a bit,” Cancel said. “Once I got to the three-eighths pole I just wanted to swing her out and start making her move little by little. Once I got to the quarter pole I knew I had a really big shot to win and I gave it 110 percent.”

The victory was worth 50 qualifying points to the Kentucky Oaks for Espresso Shot.

Daniel Zanatta, managing partner of NY Final Furlong Racing Stable, said the Oaks is the goal.

“We only buy New York-bred fillies,” Zanatta said. “My dream is not to win the Kentucky Derby, my dream is to win the Kentucky Oaks with a New York-bred filly and we’re on our way, so it’s very exciting.”

Sisterson said Oxy Lady would return to Keeneland on Sunday and that he would talk with the team at Calumet Farm to map out a plan that may or may not include the Ashland and/or Kentucky Oaks.

“She’s got a lot of talent and I don’t want to run her into the ground,” Sisterson said. “We’ll pick and choose our spots. We’ll take her to Keeneland see how she trains.”