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Lake Avenue set to make sophomore debut in Busher Invitational

by Ryan Martin

Godolphin's graded stakes-winner Lake Avenue returns from a brief freshening against seven others in Saturday's 41st running of the $250,000 Busher Invitational for sophomore fillies at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The one-turn mile, named in honor of the 1945 Horse of the Year, offers 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers and served as a springboard for 2013 Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar.

Saturday's four-stakes card at the Big A will be anchored by the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a Kentucky Derby prep race offering 50-20-10-5 qualifying points to the top-four finishers, and is bolstered by the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool for 4-years-old and up and the $125,000 Stymie for 4-year-olds and up.

America's Day at the Races will have live coverage from 5:30-7 p.m. Eastern on FS2 and will also air from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on MSG+.

Lake Avenue acquired 10 points with a gate-to-wire four-length triumph in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 7 last out, going 1 1/8 miles, and is currently ninth on the leaderboard.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the chestnut daughter of Tapit has breezed consistently at Payson Park in Indiantown, Florida, including a half-mile move in 49.60 seconds on March 2.

"She put in two very good efforts at Aqueduct and has been doing awesome since December," said Darley America president Jimmy Bell. "We gave her a little Christmas break after the Demoiselle. Since she came back, her works have been steady. You have to get started sometime and it looks like the right distance. You know she likes the track and there's just a lot of things that would lead you to want to be here."

Lake Avenue is out of the Grade 1-winning Street Cry broodmare Seventh Street, who won the 2009 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park and Go for Wand at Saratoga for Godolphin.

She broke her maiden at second asking over the Big A oval going seven furlongs, displaying the same frontrunning style as in the Demoiselle, drawing off to a 12 ¾-length victory, registering a career-best 83 Beyer Speed Figure. She was second on debut finishing a length behind eventual stakes-placed Shug McGaughey trainee Power Move.

"I would like for her to become a Grade 1-winner and give her another similarity to her mother," Bell said. "I think both are very genuine. She had a very good first start, where she was second to Shug's filly, so she has done very little wrong, as did her mother. We're cautiously optimistic for a successful campaign with her this year."

Junior Alvarado, who rode Condo Commando to a Busher victory in 2015, has piloted Lake Avenue in all three of her career starts and will return in search of a fifth stakes win this meet, breaking from post 5.

"I think Billy and Junior work well in tandem," Bell said. "They take each race as they find it. The filly has shown ability from seven furlongs to nine furlongs, which makes her very dimensional."

Maedean, a fellow Tapit offspring, will also be making her first start since the Demoiselle, where she was a late-closing second to Lake Avenue.

Owned by Donald and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farms, Maedean made her two-turn debut in the Demoiselle after a win in the Tempted on November 1 at the Big A, where she broke a step slow, tracked the pace from fourth, made a four-wide move around the turn and battled with a foe down the stretch but gained momentum in the final furlong drawing off to a 5 ½-length victory.

A $450,000 acquisition from the Stone Farm consignment at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Maedean is out of the Arch broodmare Summer Solo, who finished third in the 2014 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational on turf.

"She's doing excellent," Hennig said. "The race is a good starting point. Ultimately, she wants more ground."

Fresh off a triumph aboard Maximum Security in the Saudi Cup last weekend, jockey Luis Saez will be back aboard Maedean from post 4.

Trainer Michael Stidham, who sent out Saguaro Row to a victory in the Interborough earlier in the meet, will seek another stakes win at the Big A when entering stakes-placed Mo City.

Owned by Stallionaire Enterprises, the bay daughter of Uncle Mo has made both of her career starts at Tampa Bay Downs and arrives at the Busher off a narrow second-place finish in the Gasparilla on January 18.

Mo City enters with two bullet breezes under her belt, the most recent of which was a swift half-mile in 47.40 over the Tampa Bay Downs main track on February 28.

"She's always one that is pretty aggressive in the morning," Stidham said. "She shows good speed and is willing. We're stretching out to a mile off that seven-furlong race where she made up some ground in the end. We're taking a shot to see if she can handle the added distance and we feel that she should."

Mo City is out of the Carson City broodmare City Sister and is a half-sister to 2010 Demoiselle winner Dixie City as well as Union City - the dam of three-time graded stakes winner Unified.

Jockey Manny Franco has the call aboard Mo City from post 1.

Completing the field are Kansas Kis [post 2, Eric Cancel]; Panthera Onca [post 3, Jose Lezcano]; Water White [post 6, Jorge Vargas, Jr.]; Persisto [post 7, Dylan Davis]; and Inveterate [post 8, Kendrick Carmouche].

The Busher Invitational is slated as Race 9 with a 5:14 p.m. Eastern post time on Saturday's lucrative 10-race program. First post is 1:30 p.m.