Stud TNT’s homebred Running Away flashed speed from the starting gate and made all the running in Saturday’s $125,000 Busanda S. at Aqueduct, edging away to a 2 1/4-length decision in the 1 1/8-mile Road to the Kentucky Oaks challenge series qualifier. Sahin Civaci picked up the mount on the daughter of Gun Runner for Wesley Ward, and Running Away has now won two straight.
“I had instructions from Wesley Ward to take the lead and looking at the form I saw the one (Sharp Smile) had speed, the seven (My Sherrona) had a little bit of speed,” Civaci said. “If they were going to send hard, I would have sat off of them, but luckily the one stumbled a little bit and I managed to get the lead. Just took care of it with easy fractions and she is a nice horse, she kicked on well.”
Favored at 1.55-1 among six three-year-old fillies, Running Away established opening splits in :23.83, :48.50, and 1:13.54 before stopping the teletimer in 1:52.23. She picked up 20 points toward a Kentucky Oaks (G1) berth winning the qualifier, and the second-through-fifth place finishers were awarded qualifying points on a 10-6-4-2 scale.
“As soon as we fell into the turn and we had the lead and I saw her prick her ears, I knew that we were in really good shape,” Ward said. “The weather in Kentucky (where Running Away has been based) has been compromised to train a route horse like this. It’s been a while since her last start and she wasn’t cranked as much as I’d like, but her ability got her there as well as the track played in our favor…She’s a nice filly.”
My Sherrona, off as the 6-1 fifth choice following a pair of runner-up finishes to open her career, stalked the winner in second and held her positioning throughout, winding up a length better than last-out maiden winner Sharp Smile in third. Ramify, Beautiful Blome, and Ruth came next under the wire.
A half-sister to sprint stakes winners Legalize and Workaholic, Running Away has proven to be a longer distance type, never racing less than a mile in four starts. After opening her career with a pair of close placings on turf, the chestnut filly switched to the main track with a gate-to-wire score over maiden special weight rivals at Churchill Downs in late November, drawing off to win the 1 1/16-mile race by a widening five-length margin.
The Kentucky-bred hails from Brazilian Group 3-placed Unbridled’s Song mare Allez Marie, who is out 2005 Kentucky Oaks winner Summerly.
Running Away will have the option to return to Aqueduct for the $200,000 Gazelle (G3) on April 5, but Ward indicated the Ashland (G1) at Keeneland a day earlier is a more likely option.
“My home track is Keeneland and I try to run everything here,” Ward said. “With the Ashland being around the same time [as the Gazelle], we’ll have a discussion with Goncalo Torrealba and his team and make a decision as we get closer.”
