Usha edges Zeitlos to win Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs

Bob Baffert’s decision to keep a deeper Kentucky string in play paid off again when Usha edged Zeitlos by a head in the Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs, a result that said as much about stable management as it did about speed. The 4-year-old filly covered six furlongs in 1:10.21 on a fast track in the 23rd running of the race, adding a second career graded stakes win and another notch to a résumé that already included Grade 1 company.

Florent Geroux rode Usha, who relaxed just off pacesetter Foie Gras, poked her head in front leaving the turn and then held off Zeitlos late. The race was listed by Equibase as a $250,000 Grade 3 for fillies and mares 4 and up, while Churchill Downs pegged the feature at $220,000. Usha’s owners are Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, and the win showed the kind of tactical maturity that can make a sprinter dangerous at this level: she did not have to control the pace to win, but she still had enough punch to finish the job.

That matters because Usha’s Kentucky line had not always looked this smooth. She was seventh in the Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland last fall after a disappointing debut there, then came back in her 2026 seasonal opener to run third in the Derby City Distaff Stakes on Kentucky Derby weekend. Instead of shipping her right back out, Baffert let her settle into the Churchill circuit, and the difference was visible. She looked comfortable in the Winning Colors, which is often what separates a horse that merely visits a track from one that starts to own it.

The bigger story is Baffert’s post-Derby strategy. In March, he said he was “just splitting the barn up” and bringing a group of nice horses to Churchill, with plans to leave some there for the spring and summer after Derby week. That move is looking sharper by the start. Churchill’s 2026 spring meet purse structure was reported at a record $27.8 million, up from $26.175 million in 2025, and far above the $8.8 million stakes total Churchill had before Kentucky historical horse racing venues began contributing in 2018. For a California barn, the math is hard to ignore.

Usha entered with Grade 1 credentials after winning the 2025 La Brea Stakes by 5 1/4 lengths, and the value has only climbed from there. BloodHorse listed her sale history at $30,000 as a yearling in 2023 and $600,000 at OBS April 2024, a steep rise for a filly now proving she can handle older company. A head win is not a loud statement, but in this division it is enough to suggest Usha is becoming a serious female sprint player.