2023 Gazelle Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The 2023 Gazelle Stakes is coming up on Saturday, April 8, at Aqueduct. The Grade 3 race covers 1 1/8 miles over the dirt, the same distance as the Kentucky Oaks itself. The race offers a purse of $250,000 as well as 100-40-30-20-10 Oaks points to the top five finishers. This means the winner punches her ticket to the Oaks, the second-place finisher likely does as well, and other horses might if they have enough points in other races.

The leading contenders in the six-horse Gazelle field include two of the local prep winners, Busanda winner Occult and Busher winner Shidabhuti. Gambling Girl, third in the Demoiselle (G2) last year, is graded-stakes placed over the course and distance as well.

Until 2012 the race was an autumn feature; it was moved to the Aqueduct spring meet and turned into an Oaks prep in 2013. Since then, its most important winner has been Close Hatches (2013), a multiple Grade 1 winner at age three who matured into one of the best in the distaff division at age four, who has since gone on to produce Wood (G2) winner Tacitus.

Gazelle 2023 Information

Race Date: Saturday, April 8, 2023
Track: Aqueduct Racetrack
Post Time: 1:27 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
Distance: 1 1/8 miles
Age/Sex: three-year-old fillies
Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Gazelle Odds

These are the horses in the 2023 edition of the Gazelle, including their post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds:

Gazelle Prep Results

The six entrants in the Gazelle come out of five different races.

Four of the runners come out of points races. Two come from the Busher at Aqueduct on March 4; Shidabhuti won by two lengths, while Capella chased on for third while no match in her dirt debut. Occult has been freshened since winning the Busanda, also a local race, by 3 ¾ lengths on January 14. Gambling Girl most recently ran fourth in the Honeybee (G3) at Oaklawn, though she is a New York-bred stakes winner and Grade 2-placed at Aqueduct as well.

The two others will make their stakes debuts in the Gazelle. Frosty O Toole won a first-level allowance at a mile and forty yards at Tampa Bay Downs; she is undefeated in two starts on dirt and with blinkers on, and makes her first start since a private purchase and a move to the Pletcher barn. Promiseher America comes out of a third-out maiden win on February 19 at Aqueduct at a mile.

Gazelle Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2023 Gazelle, organized by post position:

Capella: She won her first two starts at a mile at Turfway, leading at every call in a maiden and a first-level allowance. She finished a chasing third in the one-turn Busher over a wet track. The stretch out and the move back to a two-turn configuration plays in her favor, and though she has drawn the rail, she shapes as controlling speed in a short field if she can get away well.

Gambling Girl: She has won twice in eight starts, and though both of those victories came at Aqueduct, they came in seven-furlong races against New York-breds. She has grabbed a trio of underneath finishes in two-turn points races since, including two at 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. Her upside is limited at this point; you know what you’re going to get from her, but what you’ll get is a horse who settles well off the pace and makes up some ground late even if the pace isn’t too fast, making her useful for exotics.

Frosty O Toole: She started her career against Florida-breds on Tapeta and turf, but has come into her own at two turns over conventional dirt: well enough that after her allowance victory on March 8 she was privately purchased and sent out to Todd Pletcher. Her new owners, Eclipse Throroughbred Partners, have a good history with a sibling: they purchased her Amira’s Prince half-sibling Sister Otoole privately after her debut in 2020, from Michael Dini as well, and she has become a multiple graded stakes placed turf router. Frosty O Toole has shown good tactical speed in her last two starts, and should be able to carve a trip in this race without a lot of early gas.

Promiseher America: She got her diploma on February 19 in her third start, tracking the pace and taking over in a one-turn mile. Her pedigree appeals for the stretch out to this longer, two-turn distance, though she will have to take a clear step forward in order to keep face with these more proven and experienced stakes horses. It is also a concern that in his last 23 starts in graded races, trainer Raymond Handal has failed to hit the board.

Occult: She was well beaten in her sprint debut in September, but a bit of time and a bit more distance has done wonders. She has won her last two starts, both at Aqueduct, in stalk-and-pounce fashion. Her maiden-breaker came at a flat mile, though her last-out win in the Busanda came over the same 1 1/8-mile trip at Aqueduct as this race. She has proven her tactical speed and her ability to handle a short field; if she picks up where she left off, which often happens with Chad Brown layoff horses, she figures strongly.

Shidabhuti: She has yet to set a hoof wrong, amassing three wins in as many starts. How much she wants to stretch out to this nine-furlong distance is the question: she has yet to go past a mile, and she is by Practical Joke from a sprinter-miler family, suggesting that those one-turn miles she has been doing might be perfect for her. Pace is another question; she has shown some versatility, but this is a short field, and there are several horses who stand to get the jump on her.

Gazelle Past Winners Past Performances

In the nine editions of the Gazelle since it became an Oaks prep and not a fall race (it was not run due to COVID in 2020), it is almost an even split between last-out New York runners and last-out Gulfstream Park runners.

Four of the points-era winners of the Gazelle most recently raced in Oaks points races at Aqueduct, and they all hit the board last out. Always Shopping (2019) and Search Results (2021) came out of victories in the Busanda. Two others came out of the Busher: Condo Commando (2015) won it, while My Miss Lilly (2018) was third.

The other five winners all came out of races at Gulfstream. Two of them had last raced in the Davona Dale (G2): Miss Sky Warrior (2017) won it, while Lewis Bay (2016) was second. The other three came out of wins in non-stakes races. Nostalgic (2022) won an allowance but already had some graded-stakes experience, while Close Hatches (2013) won an allowance and made her stakes debut in the Gazelle. My Miss Sophia (2014) broke her maiden at Gulfstream and faced winners for the first time in this spot.

Gazelle Undercard

The Gazelle is the third of eleven races on this important day of the Aqueduct meet; the eleventh and final is the featured Wood Memorial (G2), a $750,000 race that offers 100-40-30-20-10 points on the Kentucky Derby trail. Other stakes on the card include the $300,000 Carter (G1) for older dirt sprinters and the $200,000 Bay Shore (G3) for sophomore dirt sprinters. With top horses in a range of divisions turning out, make sure to watch all day on FanDuel TV and place your bets with FanDuel and TVG!

About Aqueduct

An oldie, but a goodie, Aqueduct (familiarly called the Big A) opened up in 1894 in Queens, New York. The track was closed in 1956 for renovations, with an updated version opened up in 1959. The only racetrack within the New York City limits, it has been updated several times since then. In 1975 they laid an inner track, and in 2017 the inner dirt track was replaced with a second turf course.

Aqueduct has been the site of many moments in racing history. In the 1944 running of the Carter, fans witnessed the first—and still only—triple dead heat in a stakes race when Brownie, Bossuet, and Wait a Bit crossed the wire at the same time. Between 1963 and 1967, Aqueduct hosted the Belmont Stakes as Belmont was being renovated. In 1973, Secretariat’s retirement ceremony happened at Aqueduct.

In 2013, Aqueduct embraced its position as a true city track by inviting street artists to paint murals in the grandstand of Aqueduct. An exciting overlap of classic racing scenes and modern style, the murals help make Aqueduct a fascinating, unique destination to enjoy a day of horse racing.

Gazelle FAQ

Q: When is the Gazelle?
A: The 2023 Gazelle will be run Saturday, April 8 at Aqueduct. It is the third of eleven races on the card.

Q: Where is the Gazelle?
A: It takes place at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Gazelle?
A: Three trainers have won the Gazelle six times: James G. Rowe, Sr.; “Sunny” Jim Fitzsimmons, and Shug McGaughey. Though McGaughey is still training horses, he does not have an entrant this year. Among trainers who are running horses in the Gazelle in 2023, Chad Brown has won the race three times and Todd Pletcher has won it twice. Brown sends out Occult and Shidabhuti, while Pletcher runs Frosty O Toole and Gambling Girl.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2023 Gazelle?
A: Occult is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Gazelle off of her sharp victory in the Busanda. However, especially if pace-advantaged Capella or undefeated Shidabhuti takes a lot of money, there could be some swings and bettors should be ready to read the board.

Q: Who is the best Gazelle jockey?
A: Jockeys Angel Cordero, Jr. and Javier Castellano have both won the Gazelle four times. Castellano is still riding, but does not have a horse in the Gazelle this year. Among jockeys with a call in the 2023 Gazelle, Jose Ortiz (Gambling Girl) and Manuel Franco (Shidabhuti) have each won the race once.

Q: Who won the 2022 Gazelle?
A: Nostalgic won the 2022 Gazelle for trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jose Ortiz. Though Mott does not have a horse in the race this year, Ortiz rides Gambling Girl for Todd Pletcher.