Practical Joke’s Shidabhuti Joins Oaks Trail in Busher

Shidabhuti (3f Practical Joke x A.P. Candy, by Candy Ride) kicked off a huge day for her sire when staying undefeated with a Listed Busher Stakes victory.

Being bumped at the start of the one-mile dirt race didn’t throw the filly off her game and she was soon tracking the leader by about a length. She stayed in that position for much of the backstretch run before Dylan Davis asked for more as they raced around the turn.

Her inexperience didn’t show as she chased down the front runner in the stretch, closing strongly to take over just after the sixteenth pole. From there, she continued to build her lead and won by two lengths for owner Peter Brant.

Trained by Chad Brown and undefeated in three starts, Shidabhuti is firmly on the Kentucky Oaks trail with her 50 points putting her in the fifth spot on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard.

Shidabhuti was a $310,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase by her racing owner from the Paramount Sales consignment.

A half-sister to stakes-placed Knox Court, she was bred by Gabriel Duignan and Gerry Dilger out of the Candy Ride mare A.P. Candy. That mare is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded stakes placed Wind Fire and is a granddaughter of top racemare and successful broodmare Dream Supreme.

The sire of three stakes winners on Saturday, Practical Joke leads all third crop sires with three stakes winners and two graded stakes winners in 2023, in addition to having the most winners of any horse in his generation.