Gilded Lily tries stakes rivals in Bourbonette Oaks

A dozen sophomore fillies have been entered to go a mile in Saturday’s $100,000 Bourbonette Oaks (G3) at Turfway Park, and only half of the field has prior experience against stakes rivals.

The race is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of points races, and will award 50-20-10-5 points to the respective top four toward a starting berth in that May 5 contest.

One of those making her stakes debut in the Bourbonette Oaks is Gilded Lily, who is two-for-two thus far in her career. The Mike Maker trainee made her racing bow in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden at Turfway on February 9, scoring by 5 1/4 lengths, then returned three weeks later to take an allowance/optional claimer over the synthetic Polytrack by 2 3/4 lengths while stretching out to a mile.

The dark bay daughter of Speightstown earned identical 84 BRIS Speed ratings for those wins and gets Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle for the first time here.

Delphinia dropped her initial start at Keeneland last October before breaking her maiden over Gulfstream Park’s turf on December 17. The Wesley Ward pupil showed up at Turfway Park on February 4 to take the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes by seven lengths, good for an 89 BRIS Speed figure.

Julio Garcia was aboard for that 6 1/2-furlong contest and will guide the gray daughter of The Factor as she stretches out to a mile in the Bourbonette Oaks.

Two other fillies bring perfect records into the race – Jenna J and Darkwingsoverdubai.

The former comes from Jason Cook’s shedrow at Turfway Park and broke her maiden by 1 1/2 lengths on January 19 before wiring an allowance/optional claimer by four lengths on February 23. Rodney Prescott was aboard for both and retains the mount. Darkwingsoverdubai shipped in for Jerry Hollendorfer from Golden Gate Fields, where she took her initial race on January 20 by a length and then added an allowance/optional claimer by 4 1/2 lengths to her resume on February 16. Regular rider Frank Alvarado has followed the filly from the West Coast.

Others of note in the Bourbonette Oaks are On Her Honor, third behind Gilded Lily following a runner-up effort in the filly division of the OBS Championship Stakes; Wide Country Stakes winner China Grove, who finished a length in front of top Kentucky Oaks (G1) contender Farrell when second in the Rags to Riches Stakes last October; and Fun, third in last year’s Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland and third most recently on Gulfstream’s turf against allowance/optional claiming rivals.