Usha gets back on track in Open Mind S. at Churchill Downs

After a pair of uncharacteristic efforts, Bob Baffert was looking for Usha to redeem herself in Saturday’s $300,000 Open Mind S. at Churchill Downs.

And the two-time graded stakes winner did just that, forging to the front inside the final furlong and digging deep to hold off Look Forward by three-quarters of a length.

With the inside post in the six-furlong sprint, Usha settled into third and was about two lengths from the lead after a quarter-mile. Modo set the pace and opened up a clear advantage coming into the stretch, with Usha gaining on her along the inside rail. Usha and Look Forward surged past the pacesetter in deep stretch, with Usha getting the better of her foe in 1:10.55 on a fast track.

“(Usha) just didn’t show up last time in New York, but she came back here and trained really well out of it,” said Baffert. “I didn’t like her drawing the inside because she doesn’t really like being down there. We wish she would’ve run one-two with (third-place finisher) Cash Call, but they both ran well.”

Winner of the La Brea S. (G1) and Winning Colors S. (G3), Usha is now 5-2-4 in 13 starts and has earned $718,270 for owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.