While none of the eight 3-year-old fillies entered in the $200,000 Gazelle Stakes (G3) are among the top 14 in the battle for spots in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), that will all change once the field crosses the finish line in the April 5 test at Aqueduct Racetrack.
With 100-50-25-15-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points on the line in the 1 1/8-mile stakes, at least two, and with some luck three, fillies will crack the top 14 on the leaderboard and punch their ticket to Churchill Downs on the first Friday in May.
C2 Racing Stable, Ken Reimer, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, and Bradley Kent's Early On leads the pack in the Gazelle with 25 points, all of them coming from a second in the March 15 Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs. The New York-bred daughter of Union Rags trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. is 19th on the leaderboard and should wind up in the Kentucky Oaks field with a third or better.
Based on past years, 50 points should be enough to earn a golden ticket to the Kentucky Oaks.
Rodeo Creek Racing's Ballerina d'Oro has 16.25 points but has the advantage of a solid effort over the track at Saturday's distance. The daughter of Medaglia d'Oro was a closing second in the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) as she closed out her 2-year-old campaign for trainer Chad Brown.
In her lone start at 3, she settled for third in the Davona Dale Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park.
"That track favors speed and getting her back to one turn, she was against it," Brown said about the Davona Dale. "She did finish up well and galloped out super. She's moved forward nicely. I've liked her last couple of works quite a bit, so she'll see if she can stamp her ticket to the Kentucky Oaks."
Repole Stable's Vanilla Sundae comes off a highly impressive 15 3/4-length win in a Feb. 27 one-mile maiden race at the Big A. It was the third career start for the daughter of Gun Runner and her first try on a fast track.
"She was sort of a slow filly to come around. It took a lot of work at the gate before her debut. She was just a little bit slow to put it all together, but this last start it seemed like she made a big move forward," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "Hopefully, the stretch out to two turns and added distance will prove to her liking as well. It seems like she's starting to figure things out now."
Storyteller Racing and Michael Schroeck's Liam in the Dust will try to bounce from a weak eighth-place finish in the March 1 Busher Stakes at Aqueduct while making her 3-year-old debut.
Prior to that, the Liam's Map filly was third in the Demoiselle for trainer Rodolphe Brisset.
"What I do know is that both her bad races have been when she's on the inside. I did give her a break and walked her for three weeks and jogged her for two. I just put a line through it and don't even try to overthink it," said Brisset, whose filly has eight points and will break from the outside post in the field of eight.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, April 5, 2025, Race 9Entries: Gazelle S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Late Nite Call (VA) Tyler Conner 118 Niall Saville - 2 Ballerina d'Oro (KY) Dylan Davis 118 Chad C. Brown - 3 Vanilla Sundae (KY) Manuel Franco 118 Todd A. Pletcher - 4 Early On (NY) Javier Castellano 118 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. - 5 Deloraine (KY) Mike E. Smith 118 Eoin G. Harty - 6 Diriyah (KY) Jose Lezcano 118 Richard E. Dutrow, Jr. - 7 Pure Beauty (FL) Samuel Marin 118 Claude R. McGaughey III - 8 Liam in the Dust (KY) Joel Rosario 118 Rodolphe Brisset -
