Smok'n Frolic favorite in Bed o' Roses

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Three Grade 1 winners and a millionaire make for an interesting edition of the Grade 3 Bed o' Roses Breeders' Cup Handicap at Aqueduct on Saturday.

In the $150,000-added Bed o' Roses, Buy the Sport, who won the Grade 1 Gazelle at Belmont Park in September, and Passing Shot, the winner of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign last year at Saratoga, meet Smok'n Frolic, a winner of more than $1.4 million. In addition to those three, Grade 1 winner Nonsuch Bay, Victory Encounter, Princess Dixie, and Chirimoya were entered in the one-mile Bed o' Roses.

, second in last year's Bed o' Roses, is the 119-pound highweight and likely favorite.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Smok'n Frolic registered her second consecutive win in the Grade 3 Next Move on March 14. Pletcher said Smok'n Frolic, a 5-year-old, is such an old pro that he doesn't worry about her regressing off her 6 1/2-length win in this year's Next Move.

"She's a pretty seasoned filly and those type of horses can consistently run those kind of races," said Pletcher, who trains Smok'n Frolic for Dogwood Stable.

John Velazquez rides Smok'n Frolic from post 7. With no serious speed in the field, Smok'n Frolic figures to be prominently placed in the early running.

New York-bred Buy the Sport pulled an upset in her first start in this country by winning the Gazelle at odds of 48-1. After the Gazelle, she finished a well-beaten third in the Beldame and fifth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. Buy the Sport makes her first start since the Breeders' Cup in the Bed o' Roses, and has won off a similar layoff.

"We left off on a bad note in the Breeders' Cup when she lost all chance at the start, and want to start off on a good note [Saturday]," said Bobby Barbara, Buy the Sport's trainer. "I think she'll handle [the layoff] fine."

Richard Migliore rides Buy the Sport from post 2.

Passing Shot was no match for Smok'n Frolic in the Next Move and finished fourth. Passing Shot is trained by Allen Jerkens, who has won the Bed o' Roses six times.

, the winner of the Grade 1 Mother Goose in 2002, is coming off a win in the ungraded Banshee Breeze at Gulfstream Park 13 days ago.

Victory Encounter has been training well since she was eased in the Grade 2 La Canada at Santa Anita in February. Chirimoya stretches out after racing in sprints. New York-bred Princess Dixie completes the field.