Experience may favor Into Trouble in Bourbonette Oaks

The $100,000 Bourbonette Oaks on Saturday at Turfway Park will award its winner 20 points toward a spot in the Kentucky Oaks starting gate, with time remaining on the calendar to move into the final round of preps. However, the race is unlikely to make a real impact on the filly classic – just three of the 12 entrants are among the early nominations for the race released by Churchill Downs last week.

Still, the one-mile Bourbonette has a recent history of producing quality runners. In its previous 10 runnings, its victors include Hot Cha Cha, In Lingerie, and Summer Soiree, all of whom went on to be Grade 1 winners on turf or synthetic.

One of the candidates to join those names is Into Trouble – the tepid 4-1 morning-line favorite as the lone stakes winner in this field. Eight entrants have only a maiden win and one is still a maiden.

“She’s very classy and just a really, really nice filly,” said Ben Colebrook, who trains Into Trouble for Donamire Farm.

The Bourbonette Oaks is among six stakes at Turfway on Saturday, topped by the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby, a Kentucky Derby prep.

Into Trouble, by leading juvenile sire Into Mischief, won her debut at seven furlongs on the Ellis Park dirt, then won the Arlington-Washington Lassie going the same distance on a synthetic surface. In her next outing, she stepped up to Grade 1 company, finishing ninth in the Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland going two turns on dirt. In her lone start as a 3-year-old, she was second in the Gasparilla Stakes going seven furlongs on Tampa’s dirt.

Into Trouble, who has shown tactical versatility, will break from post 5 in the Bourbonette with Rafael Mojica Jr. in the irons for the first time. The filly stalked the pace in both her debut and the Gasparilla, but rallied from well back in her Lassie win.

Crafty’s Dream, third in the Wide Country at Laurel last out, has won twice from four starts at this mile distance, including an optional-claiming event in December at Turfway. Birdie, Channel Princess, and New Roo are all maiden winners going the mile at Turfway.

Red Rounder finished third in the Ginger Brew Stakes on the Gulfstream turf with a Beyer Speed Figure of 77, the top career number in this field. Naughty Joker, the 9-2 morning-line second choice off a maiden victory at Churchill Downs, was second in the restricted Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes last fall to Dunph, who goes in Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby.

Malibu Party, though still a maiden, was a rallying third in the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes last out at Turfway and now stretches back out from that 6 1/2-furlong race. She was a well-beaten second in one previous try going a mile at Turfway.