Running Away notches Oaks points with Busanda victory
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Wesley Ward second-guessed himself on the instructions he gave jockey Sahin Civaci earlier in the day as it related to how he wanted Running Away to be ridden in Saturday’s $125,000 Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct.
Ward said he wanted Civaci to break running and get to the lead. But when he watched speed horses have so much success at Aqueduct earlier on the card, Ward, from his home in Kentucky, contacted Civaci before the race with a concern.
“The track was extremely speed favoring, I knew all the riders would be thinking the same thing so I called him and said ‘Hey, ride her however you want, you can throw those instructions out the window,’ “ Ward said.
While prepared to give Running Away a stalking trip if need be, Civaci ultimately stayed with Plan A and got Running Away to the front entering the first turn, opened up a clear advantage midway through the race, before turning back the pace-prompting My Sherrona en route to a 2 1/4-length victory in the Busanda.
My Sherrona, a maiden, finished second for the third straight race, this time by one length over Sharp Smile, who stumbled at the break. Ramify was fourth, followed by Beautiful Blome and Ruth, another who stumbled badly leaving the gate.
Bless the Broken, who ran in Saturday’s Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds, Carmen’s Candy Jar, who ran in a Friday allowance at Aqueduct, and Bernieandtherose (eye irritation) all scratched.
The Busanda was the second straight win for Running Away since Ward transferred her to the dirt after two narrow losses on turf. The victory earned Running Away 20 points toward the May 2 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, where she did win her maiden last Nov. 30.
While Civaci said he was still intent on getting the lead after his conversation with Ward, he was mindful of two other horses potentially showing speed early in the Busanda. One of those horses was Sharp Smile, who, under Manny Franco, stumbled out of the gate and Franco was perhaps not as aggressive with her had that not happened.
“If they were going to send hard, I would have sat off of them,” Civaci said. “Luckily, [Sharp Smile] stumbled a little bit, I managed to get the lead and just took her with easy fractions. She’s a nice horse, she kicked on well.”
Running Away, a daughter of Gun Runner, owned by the Stud TNT operation of Goncalo Torrealba, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.23 and returned $5.10 as the favorite.
“When I let him take over and he decided to take the bull by the horn and go on I was happy with it,” Ward said.
Ward said he would like to run Running Away in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland in April with a race somewhere in between though the Busher at Aqueduct on March 1 is likely out because it would mean cutting her back to a one-turn mile.
Meanwhile, trainer Ray Handal said he was pleased with how My Sherrona raced in the Busanda and said he would look to get a maiden win into her and then try her in the Gazelle here on April 5.
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