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Background Check: Diana

In this continuing series, we examine the past winners of significant filly/mare races by the lasting influence they've had on the breed. Up today is Saratoga's GI Diana S., contested at 1 1/8 miles on the lawn.

These days, the Diana is restricted to fillies and mares ages four and up. That wasn't always the case, as a number of 3-year-old fillies have won in the past. That's not the only thing that's changed: the Diana is such a fixture on the grass that it may come as a surprise to learn it was originally run on the dirt, not moving to the turf until 1974. The 84th edition will be run Saturday, but with two divisions run a few times and several mares who won the race twice–including most recently Sistercharlie (Ire) (2018-19)–there have been 78 individual winners of the Diana.

Following are the most compelling Diana winners in reverse chronological order. They haven't been reviewed by their own pedigrees or race records, but simply by what impact they have delivered through their sons and daughters.

Wonder Again (1999, Silver Hawk–Ameriflora, by Danzig): This mare produced more foals that didn't race than ones that did, but her two winners include Japanese MSW & MGSP Red Raven. An unraced daughter produced 2021-22 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. winner Colonel Liam, who also captured the 2021 GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S.

Starine (Fr) (1997, Mendocino–Grisonnante {Fr}, by Kaldoun {Fr}): She only had two foals: a gelded son and an unraced daughter. However, that daughter is making the most of her opportunities: she produced Irish champion Order of Australia (Ire), winner of the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Mile; Iridessa (Ire), multiple Group I winner in Ireland and England and winner of 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf; and Santa Barbara (Ire), winner of the 2021 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and GI Beverly D. S.

Memories of Silver (1993, Silver Hawk–All My Memories, by Little Current): A Phillips family mare, like Wonder Again above, she produced four stakes winners (two graded), including Winter Memories, also a winner of the Diana and a stakes producer. Five of her six daughters have thus far produced black-type winners.

MGISW Elate has deep family ties to the Diana | Coady

Wild Applause (1981, Northern Dancer–Glowing Tribute, by Graustark): She is the dam of GISW Eastern Echo, MGSWs Roar and Yell, and additional GSW Blare of Trumpets. Her descendants include MGISW Elate, MGSW & MGISP Ironicus, MGSW On Leave and Tax, two full-brothers better known as top sires in GSW & MGISP Congrats and GSP Flatter, and several other GSWs.

Hush Dear (1978, Silent Screen–You All, by Nashua): C.V. Whitney sold this mare and his widow, Marylou, bought her daughter Dear Birdie while trying to revitalize his breeding program. The latter became a foundation mare for Marylou Whitney and was named Broodmare of the Year in 2004. Her descendants include champion and Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town, Belmont/Travers/Champagne winner Birdstone, and MGSW Bird Song.

Javamine (1973, Nijinsky II–Dusky Evening, by Tim Tam): This mare deserves a mention even though she won't live on in pedigrees. She lived only long enough to produce four foals, only two of which lived past age three. However, those two foals were MGISW Java Gold and English GSW Spicy Story. Both were sires, with the best of their combined progeny being the wonderful Eclipse champion Kona Gold, who was a gelding.

Glowing Tribute (1973, Graustark–Admiring, by Hail to Reason): In addition to producing two daughters who also won the Diana–the phenomenal Wild Applause detailed above and two-time Diana winner Glowing Honor–she also produced MGISW Hero's Honor, Kentucky Derby/Travers/Champange winner Sea Hero, GSW & GISP Mackie, and GSW Coronation Cup (who almost made it a third daughter to win the Diana). In addition to Wild Applause's wildly accomplished offspring, descendants of Glowing Tribute also include European champion Mozart (Ire) and Chilean champion Il Campione (Chi). She was named Broodmare of the Year in 1993.

MGISW Colonel Liam is out of an unraced daughter of Wonder Again | Horsephotos

Tempted (1955, Half Crown–Enchanted Eve, by Lovely Night): This two-time winner of the Diana, for whom Aqueduct's Tempted S. is named, produced only one stakes winner. However, when taking into account her daughters and granddaughters, more than 50 black-type winners trace to her. And the line is continuing; for example, she is the fifth dam of GISW Rutherienne, who won or placed in 17 graded stakes.

Searching (1952, War Admiral–Big Hurry, by Black Toney): A granddaughter of the immortal La Troienne, Searching won the Diana twice and produced multiple champion Affectionately, MSW Priceless Gem, and SW Admiring. She is granddam of the abovementioned Broodmare of the Year Glowing Tribute, as well as Horse of the Year Personality, French Horse of the Year Allez France, and the prolific top-level producer Lady Winborne. Additional Grade I winners who trace to her include the popular Lite Light and La Gueriere.

Misty Morn (1952, Princequillo–Grey Flight, by Mahmoud): Named Broodmare of the Year in 1963, her five stakes-winning foals included champion and Met Mile winner Bold Lad, champion Successor, and Test winner Bold Consort. Among her top descendants were MGISWs Dispute and Adjudicating.

Vulcania (1948, Some Chance–Vagrancy, by Sir Gallahad III {Fr}): She produced two minor black-type winners, but her daughters and granddaughters included a Broodmare of the Year and produced the likes of Horse of the Year Ferdinand and MGISW Tallahto. The latter produced two MGISW and is the granddam of Breeders' Cup winner Artie Schiller.

Busanda (1947, War Admiral–Businesslike, by Blue Larkspur): Another granddaughter of La Troienne, this mare produced Horse of the Year and four-time leading broodmare sire Buckpasser, as well as two other stakes winners. Her female-line descendants include champion Outstandingly, MGISW Polish Navy, and the wonderful La Affirmed line, responsible for (among others) recent MGISW star Maxfield.

Ouija (1947, Heliopolis–Psychist, by Psychic Bid): Epsom Derby winner Henbit and MGISW Queens Court Queen both trace to this mare.

Miss Grillo (Arg) (1942, Rolando {Arg}–Cedulilla {Arg}, by Picacero {Arg}): At first glance, this Argentinean import didn't produce much of note, but her daughters more than took up the slack. Among her descendants are European champion Meadow Court and MGISW Marquetry.

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Morning Matcha, Magic Circle Chasing Oaks Points In Busanda

Stakes-placed Morning Matcha and graded-stakes placed Magic Circle will do battle in pursuit of Kentucky Oaks qualifying points in Sunday's 48th running of the $100,000 Busanda at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The nine-furlong event for 3-year-old fillies offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-four finishers.

With a perfect in-the-money record of 7-2-3-2, Cash is King Racing, LC Racing and Gary Barber's Morning Matcha brags field-best earnings of $247,390.

Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., Morning Matcha returns to the Big A following a late-closing second in the NYSSS Fifth Avenue on Dec. 18. Trailing the field down the backstretch, Morning Matcha kicked into gear with a late rally to finish 1 3/4 lengths shy of the victorious Yo Cuz.

The Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Central Banker, New York's leading sire in 2021, broke her maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs at Parx Racing on September 25, only 12 days after earning black type when second in the restricted Finest City at Presque Isle Downs. In her lone start around two turns, Morning Matcha defeated open company by 6 1/4 lengths going one mile at Parx on Nov. 16.

Morning Matcha, who was initially expected to ship to South Florida for the winter, remained in training at Reid, Jr.'s primary division at Parx in preparation for the Busanda.

“The quicker I can get her going longer, the better,” said Reid, Jr. “We've had plenty of time since her last race and she had a nice breeze last week. I think we made the right choice keeping her up here. She's been like that where she doesn't like to overextend too early on. That's why Kendrick [Carmouche] is riding her back, he knows the filly really well.”

Carmouche, who piloted the filly to both of her career wins, retains the mount from post 3 in pursuit of his second Busanda score.

While Morning Matcha attempts to make a good first impression on the Oaks trail, Magic Circle will seek to build on a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on Dec. 4 at Aqueduct, where she earned two Kentucky Oaks qualifying points.

J.W. Singer's Kantharos sophomore chestnut set slow fractions while in command throughout most of the nine-furlong Demoiselle journey before veering out in mid-stretch, ultimately giving way in the final sixteenth.

After a successful career debut at Saratoga at 25-1 odds in September, the Rudy Rodriguez-trained Magic Circle was a distant fourth in the G1 Frizette on Oct. 3 at Belmont Park before finishing a close second in the Tempted one month later.

Magic Circle breezed a half-mile in 51.12 seconds Sunday over the Belmont dirt training track.

“She worked well Sunday morning,” Rodriguez said. “When you're running against these type of horses, it's tough. She's just a very laid back filly. She lets us do whatever we need with her. She's shown plenty of promise from Day One. She's coming into the race well. We just have to hope for the best.”

Jose Ortiz, a two-time Busanda winner, will pick up the mount from the inside post.

After a collaborative triumph with The Grass Is Blue in 2021, trainer Chad Brown and owner Louis Lazzinnaro will vie to become the first trainer-owner combo to score back-to-back Busanda wins with Waters of Merom.

The daughter of Connect, who also is owned by FIN Stables, was claimed for $30,000 out of a two-turn maiden claimer in October at Keeneland, which she won by 8 1/2 lengths. She made a winning debut for her new connections on Jan. 6 at Aqueduct, traveling a one-turn mile at the starter allowance optional claiming level.

Dylan Davis returns to the irons from post 2.

Hall of Famer Bill Mott seeks a third Busanda score with Mike G. Rutherford homebred Rosebug. The daughter of American Pharoah found the winner's circle at fourth asking over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track on Dec. 30.

Rosebug is out of multiple stakes-winning Menifee mare Taittinger Rose, who was fourth in the 2004 Busanda before winning the Pennsylvania Oaks later that year. Rosebug's fourth dam is 1985 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Twilight Ridge.

Manny Franco will attempt to win his third Busanda in the past four runnings when guiding Rosebug from the outermost post 6.

Completing the field are Gamestonks [post 4, Trevor McCarthy] and Reigning Chick [post 5, Jalon Samuel].

The Busanda honors Ogden Phipps' 1950 Alabama winner, whose name is an anacronym for the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (BuSandA) – a Navy bureau that Phipps had served in during World War II. As a broodmare, Busanda, a daughter of War Admiral and maternal granddaughter of the influential broodmare La Troienne, produced Hall of Famer and prestigious sire Buckpasser and was also the great granddam of 1984 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Outstandingly.

The Busanda is slated as Race 8 on Sunday's nine-race card. First post is 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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Oaks Prep: Arrogate’s Half-Sister Diamond Ore Tops Sunday’s Busanda Stakes

The Road to the Kentucky Oaks will go through New York when Diamond Ore takes on four other sophomore fillies in Sunday's 47th running of the $100,000 Busanda going nine furlongs over the main track at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Busanda is a local qualifier for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, scheduled to be run on April 30 at Churchill Downs, awarding the top-four finishers points on a 10-4-2-1 scale.

The race honors Ogden Phipps' 1950 Alabama winner, whose name is an anacronym for the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts (BuSandA) – a Navy bureau that Phipps had served in during World War II. As a broodmare, Busanda, a daughter of War Admiral and granddaughter of the prolific broodmare La Troienne, produced Hall of Famer and prestigious sire Buckpasser and was also the great granddam of 1984 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Outstandingly.

Clearview Stable's Diamond Ore, a $750,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, makes her stakes debut for trainer Barb Minshall following a maiden-breaking effort routing on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt on Dec. 24.

The Tapit bay, out of the multiple stakes winning Distorted Humor mare Bubbler, is a half-sister to champion Arrogate, who won the 2016 Travers at Saratoga Race Course in a track record time of 1:59.36.

Diamond Ore made her first three starts on Tapeta for the Woodbine-based Minshall, who captured the 2017 Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga with Dream It Is, and will send out her first representative at the Big A since Hollywood Hideaway ran third in the 2017 Artie Schiller.

Following a pair of sprint efforts at Woodbine, Diamond Ore rallied to be second when stretched out to two turns for the first time on Nov. 14 at the Rexdale, Ontario oval, garnering a career-best 70 Beyer Speed Figure.

Minshall said the well-bred Diamond Ore is ready for her stakes debut.

“With her pedigree any blacktype is important,” said Minshall. “Hopefully, we can do that for the owners, and she could move forward from this. The horses will tell you where you can go. They sort themselves out. It's early in the 3-year-old year and this is a good chance to see what she's got and see how she handles the dirt in more difficult company.”

Minshall said Diamond Ore will appreciate the added distance Sunday and enters with the benefit of additional training at her Ocala, Florida base on the Winding Oaks Farm dirt, including a five-eighths breeze on Jan. 15 in 1:02 flat.

“The farther she goes the better. She's very game,” said Minshall. “She's trained very well on the dirt here at Winding Oaks. I find she's moved forward with her training. She's done everything right and deserves a chance to move on.”

Minshall said outside of the addition of jockey Eric Cancel, there will be no changes for Diamond Ore who will emerge from post 1.

“Everything's the same. She wears a small cup blinker. She's pretty straightforward,” said Minshall. “I did race her on Lasix at Woodbine, but she raced at Tampa without it and I didn't have any problems.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the 2013 Busanda with subsequent Kentucky Oaks winner Princess of Sylmar, will attempt a sixth triumph in the Busanda with Repole Stables' Traffic Lane.

The daughter of second crop sire Outwork set the pace in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 5 over a sloppy and sealed Big A main track last out but faded to a distant fifth, finishing 18 ¼ lengths to stable mate Malathaat.

Pletcher's Belmont Park-based assistant Byron Hughes noted that neither the Demoiselle winner nor Traffic Lane liked the off-going but is optimistic for a better effort on Sunday.

The National Weather Service calls for partly cloudy skies and zero percent chance of precipitation on Sunday for the Ozone Park area.

“She didn't take to it either, but it looks like we'll have a fast track this weekend so we should see some improvement there,” said Hughes. “Our overall impression is that she didn't care for the off track.”

Prior to her stakes debut, third time was the charm for Traffic Lane, who graduated on November 15 over a good outer turf course at Aqueduct after two efforts in off-the-turf maiden events. In the 1 1/16-mile event, Traffic Lane tracked a length off the pace and secured a three-quarter length triumph over next-out winner Candace O.

“It was all just experience, that was the main thing,” Hughes said. “She hasn't been the most precocious filly, but I think the experience helped her and the races under her belt helped her. When she did break her maiden, she did it as we expected her to.”

Bred in Kentucky by Oak Lodge Bloodstock, Traffic Lane was purchased for $95,000 from the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Blandford Stud consignment and is the second offspring out of the Quality Road mare Katie Lane.

With Jose Lezcano aboard, Traffic Lane will emerge from post 4.

The Pletcher-Repole combo will also be represented by New York homebred Coffee Bar, who is entered off two weeks' rest from an 8 ¼-length maiden win on January 10 going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct.

Also a daughter of Outwork, Coffee Bar was a distant third on debut, but sat a couple of lengths closer to pace in her maiden victory to draw off a decisive winner while registering a 73 Beyer.

Coffee Bar will receive the riding services of the Big A's current leading rider Kendrick Carmouche from post 2.

Trainer Chad Brown sends out Louis Lazzinnaro's The Grass Is Blue after a close third in the December 26 Safely Kept at Laurel Park. The chestnut daughter of Broken Vow won on debut for a $25,000 tag at Monmouth Park by 8 ½ lengths and defeated winners in a Keeneland allowance on October 4 over next out stakes winner Feeling Mischief.

Bred in Kentucky by Phillips Racing Partnership, The Grass Is Blue is out of the Aldebaran mare Shine Softly, whose dam was 1999 Champion Turf Mare Soaring Softly.

Jockey Manny Franco will pilot The Grass Is Blue from post 5.

Wonderwall was dropped into a $25,000 maiden claiming tilt at Laurel Park on December 19 off a pair of swift works and proved she was no morning glory with a sharp 7 1/4-length score.

Claimed out of that winning effort by owner Marcial Cornejo, Wonderwall posted a supersonic effort in her first start for trainer Claudio Gonzalez when romping by 10 1/2-lengths in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming tilt last out on January 8 at Laurel that garnered a career-best 75 Beyer.

Wonderwall will be ridden by Trevor McCarthy from post 3.

The Busanda is slated as Race 8 on Sunday's nine-race program, which has a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Busher Winner Water White ‘Ready To Go’ For Saturday’s Grade 1 Acorn

E.V. Racing Stable's Water White, last out winner of the Busher Invitational on March 7 at the Big A for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, will look to double up in Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Longines Acorn at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

“She's doing well. Hopefully, she'll continue to train well over the next couple of days, but so far so good,” said Rodriguez.

Bred in Kentucky by Richard Forbush, the 3-year-old Conveyance gray graduated at third asking in November at Aqueduct ahead of a fifth in the Grade 2 Demoiselle at nine furlongs in December. She followed up with a five-wide second in the 1 1/8-mile Busanda in her seasonal debut in February ahead of her Busher breakthrough.

Water White has breezed six times since April 28 at Belmont Park, including a swift half-mile in 47.89 May 30 which was followed by another good half-mile in 48.66 on June 9, both efforts on the Belmont main track.

“I breezed her an easy half-mile the other day because she went pretty fast the work before,” said Rodriguez. “She's ready to go. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that we get a good trip.

“She's been working pretty steady,” added Rodriguez. “But they still need to get over there and compete.”

Rodriguez said he is hoping that Water White will be closer to the pace on Saturday.

“She's a grinding horse,” said Rodriguez. “She doesn't have much speed but I'm hoping she can be a little closer. The track has been playing for speed.”

The Acorn offers the winner 50 points toward the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks; Water White has 54 points currently and is eighth in the standings.

The veteran conditioner has enjoyed a good start to the Belmont Park spring/summer meet where he is currently fifth in the trainer standings with a record of 4-3-4 from 30 starts.

“The horses have been running very well. I have to thank my owners for being patient through the pandemic,” said Rodriguez.

The probable field for the Grade 1 Longines Acorn includes Casual (Steve Asmussen), Gamine (Bob Baffert), Lucrezia (Arnaud Delacour), Perfect Alibi (Mark Casse), and Pleasant Orb (Barclay Tagg).

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