Occult gets chance to see if she's Oaks-worthy in Gazelle
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After Occult successfully stretched out to 1 1/8 miles winning the Busher Invitational at Aqueduct in January, trainer Chad Brown was faced with the dilemma of shortening the filly up, shipping out of New York, or waiting nearly three months to run her back at the same distance.
Brown chose the latter. Saturday, he’ll find out if that was the right move and if he has a Kentucky Oaks filly in the barn when Occult runs in the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct. Occult joins undefeated stablemate Shidabhuti (3 for 3) in the Gazelle, which drew a field of six 3-year-old fillies.
The Gazelle, carded as race 3 on an 11-race program that begins at 12:15 p.m., offers its top five finishers qualifying points (100-40-30-20-10) to the May 5 Kentucky Oaks.
Occult, a daughter of Into Mischief, won her maiden going a mile on Dec. 18. Brown ran her back in 27 days in the Busanda and she galloped to a 3 3/4-length victory over Gambling Girl with Affirmative Lady finishing third. Gambling Girl came back to run fourth in the Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn while Affirmative Lady has since won her maiden and the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks.
“I’d rather her had a race for sure, but I didn’t see anything that made sense,” Brown said about Occult. “We’ll see how she does off a layoff. If she does run well, then she’s fresh and she hasn’t been overrun. It’s a delicate balance of going for the Oaks and also having her for the rest of the year.”
Occult has had a steady series of works over Belmont Park’s training track, taking advantage of a relatively mild New York winter.
“Occult’s done fine. She’s really continued to mature from 2 to 3, gotten bigger and stronger, which is what you like to see,” Brown said.
Dylan Davis rides Occult from post 5.
Davis had ridden Shidabhuti, a daughter of Practical Joke, in two of her three victories, both at a mile, including the Busher Invitational. Manny Franco rides Shidabhuti Saturday.
“She’s really stepped up over the last couple of months,” Brown said. “We gave her a chance to develop at her own pace. The last four to six weeks, in her works, she’s moved forward.”
Gambling Girl, a New York-bred daughter of Dialed In, finished third behind Julia Shining and Affirmative Lady in the Grade 2 Demoiselle here last December. After finishing second to Occult in the Busanda, she ran fourth behind Wet Paint in the Grade 3 Honeybee. Wet Paint won last Saturday’s Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn.
Frosty O Toole will be making her first start for Pletcher, following a private purchase by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners after the daughter of Frosted won a pair of mile-and-40 yard races at Tampa Bay Downs.
Pletcher said Frosty O Toole’s training “gives you the impression a mile and an eighth would suit her.”
Jose Lezcano rides Frosty O Toole from post 3.
Capella finished third in the Busher in her first dirt try following two synthetic wins. Brad Cox, who trains Capella for Juddmonte, said he is looking forward to getting Capella back out around two turns.
Promiseher America, a 6 1/4-length maiden winner going a mile here on Feb. 19, completes the field.
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