Busanda -- A good place to start

Aqueduct’s Busanda Stakes has enjoyed few quality fillies since its inaugural running in 1974, with perhaps the most notable being champion Wayward Lass in 1981.

The race is named after a filly -- by Triple Crown winner War Admiral and granddaughter of blue-hen mare *La Troienne -- who beat the boys in the 1951 Suburban Handicap as well as back-to-back editions of the Saratoga Cup (1951-52).

However, Busanda’s biggest claim to fame is as the dam of 1966 Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Buckpasser, an Ogden Phipps homebred who epitomized his blue-blood on the track and in the breeding shed.

Unfortunately, the Busanda Stakes never seemed to draw the same quality competition as its namesake.

That all changed in 2013, when the race was included on the original schedule of points races for the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

That was the year Princess of Sylmar romped by 7 ½ lengths in the Busanda. Three races later the chestnut miss would take the Kentucky Oaks and go on to complete a quartet of Grade 1 victories in the Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama Stakes and Beldame Invitational.