The $300,000, Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes is the focal point of Saturday’s 10-race program at Aqueduct, showcasing a highly competitive group of nine 3-year-old female horses.
In the past, the Mother Goose has been held during the summer months at Belmont Park, with renowned female horses securing victories in prior runnings, including Rachel Alexandra, who achieved a remarkable 19 ¼-length victory in 2009 following her triumphs in the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks and Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. This year, Drexel Hill is the only participant in the Mother Goose who competed in the 2025 Kentucky Oaks. Among the remaining eight female horses, Being Myself was assigned the innermost post position, with John Velazquez scheduled to ride for the first time. This Curlin offspring will be making her third appearance after a break of almost 11 months. Queen Azteca commenced her racing career in Norway and Sweden before relocating to the United States to contend in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales in August at Saratoga. Lemon Zest has an unblemished record of 2-for-2 when racing a mile on the dirt and finished second in the Remington Park Oaks in her most recent race when extending to 1 1/16 miles for the first time. The Godolphin homebred will have the assistance of Flavien Prat, who is in excellent form, for the first time. Ourdaydreaminggirl came close to winning in her last race, finishing third by a narrow margin of just a neck in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at odds of 42.90-1. Filly Freedom, a Constitution offspring trained by Chad Brown, secured her first victory by a significant 8 ¼ lengths in her third career race, covering a mile on the dirt at this track. Stablemate Fully Subscribed is positioned on Filly Freedom’s outside in post six and will be making her third career appearance since an absence of almost 11 months after winning at this track in October of 2024. Cue the Duckboats achieved her first career win at this 1 1/8-mile distance at Churchill Downs back in June in her third career start and returns to the U.S. after a race in the Ontario Damsel Stakes at Woodbine over an all-weather track last time out. So There She Was surged ahead to claim victory in the Remington Park Oaks by 2 ¾ lengths in her most recent race, with Mother Goose participant Lemon Zest finishing second. The previously mentioned Drexel Hill was assigned the outermost post position and will be making her first start since finishing second to Good Cheer at odds of 32.23-1 in the Kentucky Oaks on the first Friday in May.
Assessment and Key Competitors:
This highly competitive group has resulted in a particularly challenging edition of the Mother Goose Stakes, with numerous 3-year-old female horses possessing genuine opportunities to reach the winner’s enclosure. Among the most noteworthy is Being Myself, who may go unnoticed for the Cherie DeVaux stable with John Velazquez as the jockey. This jockey/trainer partnership has a 40% winning rate in all races together this year and could very well increase that percentage with another victory. Purchased for $450,000 by Lael Stables at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale, Being Myself has consistently been highly regarded. She made her debut in September of 2024 at Churchill Downs, covering 6 ½ furlongs on dirt, and finished a distant fifth behind Muhimma, who subsequently won her next race by 5 ½ lengths before winning the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes. Following that debut, Being Myself was sidelined for almost 11 months before returning in August at Ellis Park, where she impressively won first off the layoff, covering one mile on dirt. Being Myself made a significant advancement in her most recent start at Churchill Downs in September, pulling clear decisively to win an allowance race by four lengths, achieving a career-best 96 Equibase Speed Figure. The added distance should again be advantageous, with Being Myself ranked second in late pace among this group with a 107.5. Being Myself’s speed figures demonstrate a consistent upward trend. Aside from her debut, a race in which something presumably went awry, her form has been steadily improving, and we have yet to witness the full extent of this female horse’s potential.
Drexel Hill faces a difficult challenge in returning from a prolonged layoff to race 1 1/8 miles in a Grade 2 stakes; however, according to trainer Whit Beckman, she is training with improved strength and form than ever before. She began her career at Woodbine on the all-weather track and, after three starts, won by six lengths. Subsequently, she transferred to the Beckman barn and relocated to Fair Grounds. In December, Drexel Hill finished fifth in the Untapable Stakes after encountering some traffic in the stretch and went on to finish third in her next race in the Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday Stakes, achieving a 90 Equibase Speed Figure. Drexel Hill took a brief break and returned here at Aqueduct, delivering a remarkable performance, splitting horses in midstretch, and winning the one-mile Busher Stakes by three-quarters of a length despite stumbling at the start. She again took a short break before her race in the Kentucky Oaks, where she finished second, 2 ¼ lengths behind Good Cheer, after breaking last in the 13-horse field. Based on her previous two performances, this Bolt d’Oro offspring has demonstrated her status as a significant contender in graded stakes races and is likely to achieve further victories in her career. Jockey Ben Curtis retains the mount for the fourth consecutive time, which is advantageous as he elicits her best effort. Drexel Hill is fond of the Aqueduct dirt and has proven her ability to perform at this 1 1/8-mile distance as well.
The highest average class in this group belongs to So There She Was, a Munnings offspring trained by Doug O’Neill. So There She Was began her career as a sprinter and has rapidly evolved into a talented dirt route female horse. Following a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante Stakes in September of 2024, she was sidelined for almost 11 months and returned in August, finishing a distant fifth in an allowance optional claiming race at Del Mar. Just 27 days later, she raced in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes and was narrowly overtaken at the finish after leading throughout her route debut, achieving a career-best 102 Equibase figure for that effort. In her most recent race, So There She Was extended to 1 1/16 miles for the first time and won the Remington Park Oaks by 2 ¾ lengths in dominant style. Joel Rosario will be aboard So There She Was for the first time on Saturday, and he has an impressive 32% win rate from 57 starts over the past year in dirt routes at Aqueduct. This female horse could prove very challenging to defeat in the Mother Goose and should be included on all betting tickets.
The remaining participants, along with their best Equibase Speed Figures in comparable races, are Queen Azteca (87), Lemon Zest (98), Ourdaydreaminggirl (106), Filly Freedom (83), Fully Subscribed (92), and Cue the Duckboats (89).
Potential Winners in Preferred Sequence:
Being Myself
Drexel Hill
So There She Was
