Farrell, Unique Bella duking it out atop the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard

Following two weeks’ worth of Kentucky Oaks (G1) action, Farrell and Unique Bella have established their dominance in the three-year-old filly division. As the prep season continues to heat up, these two will take vastly different paths to their showdown in the Run for the Lillies.

First up, though, is the February 25 Busher Stakes at Aqueduct, which took place under foggy conditions. The result of the race was no clearer in regards to the Kentucky Oaks as none of the top four finishers are actually nominated to the May 5 contest at Churchill Downs.

With that in mind, the race is getting short shrift in this review. Suffice to say, YORKIEPOO PRINCESS proved best once again, settling into a ground-saving trip on the rail in midpack on the backstretch. She found the way blocked briefly rounding the final turn, prompting jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. to angle her off the inside. Yorkiepoo Princess opened up and held off the late challenge from Full House to score by 1 3/4 lengths.

It remains to be seen if Yorkiepoo Princess’ connections supplement her to the Kentucky Oaks. She earned 50 points toward a spot in the starting gate and could either shorten up for the six-furlong Cicada Stakes on March 25 or go nine furlongs in the April 8 Gazelle Stakes (G2), which is another Oaks points race, worth 100-40-20-10.

On the same day as the Busher, FARRELL wired the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds by 3 1/2 lengths to shoot to the top of the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard with 70 points.

The 1 1/16-mile races was worth 50-20-10-5 to the top four finishers, and Farrell added the winner’s share to the 20 she previously earned for victories in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) and Silverbulletday Stakes.

The Wayne Catalano charge opened up on the backstretch of the Rachel Alexandra Stakes after easily taking command out of the gate. She found company entering in the turn, though, as Valadorna ranged up to her outside, but all it took was a couple taps of the whip from jockey Channing Hill for Farrell to open up once again. Maiden Majestic Quality rallied fast down the lane to stick her neck in front on the wire for second over Valadorna.

Farrell holds an advantage over most every other Kentucky Oaks contender in that she already boasts a stakes win at Churchill Downs. The one thing she hasn’t done yet is stretch out to the Oaks distance of nine furlongs. She’s had no problem going 8 1/2 furlongs, though, so the extra sixteenth of a mile shouldn’t be that much of a problem for the Malibu Moon filly.

All indications are that Farrell will continue on the New Orleans path to the Kentucky Oaks, with the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) up next on April 1. However, her connections have also floated the idea of either the Ashland Stakes (G1) on April 8 at Keeneland or just training her up to the main event on May 5.