How to bet the 2023 Bayakoa Stakes at Oaklawn

Pippin S. hero #7 Lovely Ride (3-1) and a number of her race rivals from the Oaklawn stakes will meet again in Saturday’s Bayakoa S. (G3) for fillies and mares four years and older.

The 1 1/16-mile test drew a field of seven, including Pippin second-place finisher Ice Orchid and third-place runner Le Da Vida, along with Brad Cox filly A Mo Reay, winner of the Pago Hop S. at Fair Grounds on New Year’s Eve.

While Cox has an impressive 25% win rate in graded stakes, 3-1 second choice Lovely Ride cannot be ignored after winning her last two, both stakes at this track.

We’ll play the Candy Ride mare on top with A Mo Reay and graded stakes-placed Ice Orchid underneath in our exotics.

Below we provide exacta, trifecta, and superfecta tickets for the upcoming Bayakoa and examine the full field.

Bayakoa S. selections

• #7 Lovely Ride (3-1)
• #1 A Mo Reay (5-2)
• #3 Ice Orchid (4-1)

Bayakoa S. wagers

• $5 exacta: 7 with 1, 3 ($10)
• $2.50 trifecta: 7 with 1, 3 with 1, 3, 6 ($10)
• 0.50-cent superfecta: 1, 7 with 1, 3, 7 with 1, 3, 6, 7 with 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 ($8)

#1 A MO REAY (5-2): The four-year-old Uncle Mo filly won by three lengths last out in the $100,000 Pago Hop S. in her first start for new trainer Brad Cox, a 25% winner in graded stakes who owns a 40-7-8-3 record at Oaklawn this meet. The dark bay beat a field of six, including next-out stakes winner Free Like a Girl, in a race originally scheduled for one mile on the turf. She’ll move up in class here and will keep rider Florent Geroux, a 43% winner in his last 37 races paired with Cox. The morning line favorite is 1-for-2 at today’s distance and will make her first start at Oaklawn.

#2 GUANA CAY (20-1): The five-year-old mare placed second on Turfway Park’s all-weather at last asking before moving to the barn of Eric Foster, a 13% winner first after the claim. The War Front granddaughter boasts a 7-4-1-1 record at today’s distance with a career-best 89 Brisnet Speed figure and a 4-2-1-0 record at Oaklawn, but her recent dirt speed figures rank poorly compared to the rest of the field.

#3 ICE ORCHID (4-1): Bet down as the 3.70-1 third choice in the 1 1/16-mile Pippin, Ice Orchid tracked the pace about a length behind in second throughout and ultimately failed to get past the winner in the stretch, finishing three-quarters of a length behind Lovely Ride. She also came home second in both the Chilukki (G3) at Churchill two back and the Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn last February. Ice Orchid will attempt her third graded event, but trainer John Ortiz is just a 5% winner in graded stakes.

#4 POWDER RIVER (5-1): The Mineshaft six-year-old finished 2 1/2 lengths in second under Geroux in the one-mile and 70-yard Joseph E. Spanky Broussard Memorial S. at Fair Grounds on Dec. 26 and will ship to Oaklawn for the first time. Conditioner Norm Casse is 6-for-13 at Oaklawn, but just a 9% winner in his last 32 graded stakes appearances, while new rider David Cabrera is 11-for-147 this meet. Powder River placed second in her two career stakes efforts and has finished in the money in her last 10 starts. She flashed a 93 Late Pace Brisnet Speed figure last out and can contend for the minor awards.

#5 GRAYSONSMACHO GAL (15-1): The Mucho Macho Man six-year-old endured early traffic trouble when finishing a distant fifth in the Pippin. The pacesetter is the second of two runners for John Ortiz and will stick with jockey Gabriel Saez, just a 7% winner this meet and a 9% winner in his last 101 route rides. Graysonsmacho Gal is 0-for-7 at today’s distance but has four second-place finishes, and she’s 0-for-5 at Oaklawn.  

#6 LE DA VIDA (7-2): Beaten as the favorite when third in the Pippin, Le Da Vida has lost to Lovely Ride in her last two, both stakes at Oaklawn, but the closer will look to rebound in her third try at 8 1/2 furlongs. Trainer Nacho Correas is a 20% winner with beaten favorites but just a 6% winner in graded stakes, and regular rider Vincent Cheminaud is 0-for-16 paired up with Correas over the last two months.

#7 LOVELY RIDE (3-1): The Candy Ride mare will go for her third straight win after wiring both the one-mile Mistletoe and Pippin at Oaklawn. She’ll look to get out in front early here while breaking from the outside with jockey Cristian Torres, a 20% winner at Oaklawn who has won 32% of his last 53 races paired with Robertino Diodoro, a 29% winner this meet. Diodoro is a 27% winner with horses that won their last race, and a 24% winner with runners making their third start off a layoff.