Paradise Dominates Busher Stakes at Aqueduct, Collects Kentucky Oaks Points

Paradise put Brad H. Cox, NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods squarely in the Kentucky Oaks conversation with a 3 3/4-length victory in Aqueduct’s Listed Busher Stakes, a one-turn mile for 3-year-old fillies run Feb. 28 at Aqueduct Racetrack. Ridden from post 3 by Manny Franco, the Gun Runner filly collected valuable points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks while leaving her connections to weigh a cross-entry into Gulfstream’s Grade 2 Davona Dale.

BloodHorse captured the moment vividly: “It finally happened Feb. 28 when the "L" and "N" in LNJ Foxwoods watched their filly Paradise romp by 3 3/4 lengths in the $194,000 Busher.” NYRA’s pre-race materials had listed the event as the Listed $200,000 Busher; both figures appear in reporting and remain unresolved in official published notices.

Paradise is a chestnut daughter of Gun Runner and was described by NYRA as “well-bred” and a “$700,000 purchase at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale.” She is out of Venetian Harbor, a Munnings mare characterized by NYRA as “a three-time Grade 2-winner” whose record is listed as [11-4-5-0, $699,400], with Sounds of the City as second dam.

Her form coming into the Busher showed quick progression. Paradise debuted in November at Churchill Downs, finishing second by 1 1/4 lengths sprinting six furlongs. She then recorded a pacesetting, second-out graduation at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 4, defeating Betty’s Pearl by three lengths in a one-mile final time of 1:39.78 and earning a career-best 73 Beyer. NYRA noted Paradise “steps up in class off a pacesetting second-out graduation going one mile on January 4 at Gulfstream Park.”

The Busher field included multiple notable entries and rival stables primed for Oaks trails. Trainer Whit Beckman, who won last year’s Busher with Drexel Hill, that mare went on to finish second in the Kentucky Oaks, entered Blazing Brat (post 4, jockey Joseph Ramos) and Nycon (post 1, jockey Jaime Torres). NYRA reported Blazing Brat was purchased by Legion Bloodstock for $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale in January and “is set to make her barn debut for Beckman” and is cross-entered in the Davona Dale. Klaravich Stables entered Current Yield for Chad Brown, who has previously won the Busher with Search Results and Shidabhuti; NYRA noted Search Results was a close second in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks for Klaravich.

Social posts amplified the result while leaving some details ambiguous; a Facebook post read, “Paradise wins the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks! ... Kentucky Oaks! Sunday, March 1 Post time 5:15pm ET,” without specifying what the March 1 post time referenced. NYRA also lists the Davona Dale as “a one-mile Grade 2” Kentucky Oaks qualifier that awards points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale, but the exact number of Oaks points Paradise earned in the Busher was not published.

With a dominant Busher performance, Paradise’s immediate impact is concrete: a higher stakes profile, the cross-entry into the Davona Dale to consider, and a stronger hand for NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods as they map a Road to the Kentucky Oaks. The connections’ next move between Aqueduct and Gulfstream will help define her path toward Churchill Downs.