How to bet the Ladies Stakes

The $150,000 Ladies S. at Aqueduct lacks quantity with just five fillies and mares set to go postward in the 1 1/8-mile affair, but the field has plenty of quality to it with a trio of graded stakes heroines among the handful of contenders. Below is how I envision the race unfolding. 

Ladies Wagers

• $20 exacta 1 with 4 ($20)
• $10 exacta 1 with 3 ($10)
• $5 trifecta key 1 with 3,4 ($10)

Race Shape:

#1 Tizzy in the Sky comes off a sharp win in the Go For Wand S. (G3) on the strip at a one-turn mile and will be the one to catch throughout. The Todd Pletcher pupil is well drawn on the rail to take command soon after the break and could be unopposed in the early stages. The Sky Kingdom mare sports a fine 8-5-2-0 mark at Aqueduct, she is fresh with just a pair of runs to her credit since April, and the six-year-old is also a three-time victress at the distance, as well. 

Bayakoa S. (G3) queen #4 Comparative was close to the turn for home in the Go For Wand and will be chasing the leader from second in this tilt. The Brad Cox trainee needed her last outing off the long absence and figures to take a nice step forward on Saturday. The Godolphin homebred bagged this race in 2024 when registering a lifetime best Brisnet Speed number and will receive a trip quite similar to that of last season. 

I think that there will be a gap of a few lengths back to the late-running trio of #2 Just Music, #3 Evidencias, and #5 Julia Shining. The Linda Rice-trained Just Music has a touch of tactical speed and is also drawn inside of the other closing types, so she is expected to be third while saving ground on the backside. This Audible filly likes the surface and the distance, although I think she will be outclassed in the latter stages of the contest while making her stakes debut. 

Evidencias gets the narrow edge over Julia Shining to challenge for second for conditioner Christophe Clement. Multiple stakes vixen won at the distance two back on the course and has posted some impressive Brisnet Late Pace figures in her last three, as the addition of blinkers has aided the mare. The six-year-old was third in the event last campaign and will be moving best in the lane under Eric Cancel. 

Pletcher’s Julia Shining, winner of the 2022 Demoiselle S. (G2) at nine panels on the oval, was last seen powering home a smart allowance winner locally and makes her second run since the spring in this spot. The Curlin mare has obvious ability and likes the surface, but I think that the expected mild early pace will play against her in this one. The Stonestreet homebred will commence her run approaching the turn for home beneath Dylan Davis.