Photo:

NYRA / Adam Coglianese

When multiple Grade 1 winner Sightseek was retired from
racing in 2004, international powerhouse Juddmonte held high hopes that the
daughter of Distant View would continue to produce top progeny as her dam
Viviana and influential broodmares Nijinsky Star, Chris Evert and Miss Carmie
did further down her bottom line.

After six foals to race yielded Grade 3-placed stakes winner
Raison d’Etat and Russian stakes performer Night Site, the dreams of continuing
the blue-blooded line shifted to the next generation of Sightseek’s progeny. It
is led by promising sophomore filly Ramify in Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile, $125,000
Busanda Stakes, a Kentucky Oaks (G1) points prep at 3:39 p.m. EST at Aqueduct.

Garrett O’Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte USA, said he was
optimistic the daughter of Munnings out of Tapit mare Chamber will relish two
turns. He referenced the Juddmonte pair of dual graded-stakes-winning
millionaire Bonny South and graded-stakes-placed Sun Path, also by Munnings and
out of Tapit mare Touch the Star. Both proved successful at a route of ground.

“I’ve always been a fan of Speightstown, and Munnings was
the natural progression to succeed him,” O’Rourke said. “I always felt like he
was under the radar for quite a few years, and we’ve had good success with the
likes of Bonny South, Sun Path and now Ramify. I think the distance is a little
longer than I might have thought ideal for her being a Munnings, but who
knows?”

Chamber was trained by four-time Eclipse Award winner Chad
Brown. Her three-start résumé included a dominant 7 1/2-length win at second
asking sprinting seven furlongs at Belmont Park. Short as her career was,
O’Rourke said Chamber showed flashes of the talent Juddmonte hoped to see from
Sightseek’s progeny.

“We worked with the family a long time trying to get
something to keep the Sightseek line going. I have to say that I was
disappointed that as brilliant of a mare as Sightseek was, and as
magnificent-looking she was, we couldn’t get anything out of her that was
anywhere close to her ability,” O’Rourke said. “Chamber did show ability but
had some issues. When she won, she won impressively, but we weren’t able to get
her to black-type level. It took going from stallion to stallion seeing what is
it that can unlock the brilliance going back to Sightseek, and maybe it will be
with Ramify.”

Five years after Chamber’s last trip around the racetrack,
Ramify stepped into Brown’s barn with the same hopes her mother did. Although
she did not debut until Dec. 8, she proved well worth the wait as she overcame
a 13-length deficit to pick off rivals down the lane of the one-turn mile and
fend off the late run of returning rival My Sherrona. The half-length victory
was awarded a 76 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form, the
highest in the nine-horse Busanda field.

“She’s a filly that looked like she was going to be a
precocious type but injured a hock last year. We gave her all the time she
needed to heal, but it set her back a few months,” O’Rourke said. “She got to
Chad a little bit later, and in fairness she didn’t skip a beat after that.
Going into her race I was confident she had ability, but with 2-year-olds
you’re just trying to figure out how much. You can only see so much in the
mornings, and those races teach you a lot more. It was admirable the way she
fought on to win it.”

A win in the Busanda would make Ramify a top prospect on the
Kentucky Oaks trail as the race offers the top-five finishers 20-10-6-4-2
qualifying points towards the prestigious Grade 1 test May 2 at Churchill
Downs.

“At this time of year you’re just trying to find out what
level of ability these horses have and where we’re at with them,” O’Rourke
said. “Coming off that nice, maiden win, it seemed like the natural
progression. We get all of that education on Saturday, and hopefully it’s to
our liking.”

Ramify boasts a trend of route proficiencies on her bottom
line with six of Sightseek’s seven Grade 1 wins coming at 1 1/16 and 1 1/8
miles. Sightseek is also a half-sister to multiple graded-stakes winner Tates
Creek, a dual Grade 1 winner on turf at both 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 miles.

O’Rourke concluded he is comfortable leaving race tactics in
the capable hands of Brown and jockey José Lezcano, who rides the filly from
post 3 on Saturday.

“The fact is all of the horses have to run the distance, and
maybe they’re all in the same boat where they all find it a bit of a stretch
this time of year,” O’Rourke said. “She definitely was running on well at the
end of her last race. I would hope she jumps and will be a bit closer, keep a
nice and steady pace and finish the same way. This is the stuff you have to
learn.”

Post	Silks	Horse / Sire	Rating	Trainer / Jockey	Last start / Next start	Morn. line
1		Sharp Smile Practical Joke	0.00	Brad Cox Manny Franco	1st, Aqu MSW (11/21/24-R1) 2025 Busanda	6-1
Last race Next race		1st, Aqu MSW (11/21/24-R1) 2025 Busanda
2		Beautiful Blome Blofeld	0.00	Anthony Pecoraro Eric Cancel	6th, 2024 Tempted 2025 Busanda	20-1
Last race Next race		6th, 2024 Tempted 2025 Busanda
3		Ramify Munnings	5.84	Chad Brown Jose Lezcano	1st, Aqu MSW (12/8/24-R1) 2025 Busanda	5-2
Last race Next race		1st, Aqu MSW (12/8/24-R1) 2025 Busanda
4		Bless the Broken Laoban	0.00	William Walden Ruben Silvera	7th, 2024 Demoiselle G2 2025 Silverbulletday	15-1
Last race Next race		7th, 2024 Demoiselle G2 2025 Silverbulletday
5		Carmen’s Candy Jar Vino Rosso	5.59	Todd Pletcher Kendrick Carmouche	3rd, AQU Alw OC (01/17/2025-R6) 2025 Busanda	8-1
Last race Next race		3rd, AQU Alw OC (01/17/2025-R6) 2025 Busanda
6		Ruth Uncle Mo	0.00	Todd Pletcher Jose Gomez	1st, GP MSW (12/13/24-R6) 2025 Busanda	8-1
Last race Next race		1st, GP MSW (12/13/24-R6) 2025 Busanda
7		My Sherrona Not This Time	0.00	Ray Handal Romero Maragh	2nd, Aqu MSW (12/8/24-R1) 2025 Busanda	9-2
Last race Next race		2nd, Aqu MSW (12/8/24-R1) 2025 Busanda
8		Bernieandtherose Accelerate	0.00	Domenick Schettino Katie Davis	1st, AQU Alw OC (11/24/2024-R4) 2025 Busanda	12-1
Last race Next race		1st, AQU Alw OC (11/24/2024-R4) 2025 Busanda
9		Running Away Gun Runner	0.00	Wesley Ward Sahin Civaci	1st, CD MSW (11/30/24-R2) 2025 Busanda	3-1
Last race Next race		1st, CD MSW (11/30/24-R2) 2025 Busanda