Jody’s Pride Returns a Winner in Busher

Jody’s Pride (3f American Pharoah x Jody’s Song, by Scat Daddy) showed why she was a heavy favorite in Saturday’s Busher Stakes when showed determination in her 2024 debut to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

Making her first start since finishing a close second to Justify’s Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Just F Y I in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last year, Jody’s Pride was ready to go in this one-mile affair on the sloppy track. Breaking from the second widest gate, Jody’s Pride stayed a few paths away from the rail down the backstretch as she shadowed the leader.

Moving up to that one’s hip as they entered the far turn, Jody’s Pride made her move just past the quarter pole. The leader refused to give in easily but Jody’s Pride wasn’t to be denied, putting that one away to win the race and earn 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

“Well she broke very good, I sat second the whole way around and when I asked her, she gave me a very good race,” jockey Jose Lezcano commented. “I'm happy with this performance today. She is a very nice filly. When I asked her at the quarter pole, she took off like she was breaking out of the gate. She galloped out and did everything right."

The winner of last year’s Matron Stakes before her second-place finish to end the year, Jody’s Pride has earned $590,250 in her four starts for trainer Jorge Abreu and owners Parkland Thoroughbreds and Sportsmen Stable.

“I’m going to see how she comes out of it and probably [come back] here in the Gazelle, and then the Kentucky Oaks,” said Abreu. “She ran two turns already and my concern was if she was going to perform as well as she did as a 2-year-old. She did, and I think she wants to go longer than that even.”

Bred by Steve Weston, Jody’s Pride is one of two winners from two to race out of the two-time winning Jody’s Song. That mare is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Make Mischief and four other winners from six to race out of Speightful Lady.

Jody’s Song has a juvenile full brother to Jody’s Pride named Moreperfectunion and a yearling full brother named Jody’s Legacy to come. The mare visited Champion 3-Year-Old Epicenter in 2023.

This is the fourth worldwide stakes winner for American Pharoah this year with his three Northern Hemisphere stakes winners fourth best among all stallions.