Expert Pick of the Week: 2026 Roxelana Stakes

Apr 23, 2026 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

One Magic Philly wins at Keeneland. (Photo by Coady Media)

A well-matched field of eight fillies and mares will jaunt six panels on the Churchill Downs dirt in Saturday’s opening day feature, the $200,000 Roxelana S. The Brendan Walsh-trained One Magic Philly ran an uncharacteristic race in the Inside Information (G2) at Gulfstream Park last time out, but the graded stakes winner gets blinkers for her return to Louisville and has posted some good morning workouts in advance of her return off the layoff.

One Magic Philly has run some very good races at one turn in her lifetime, which includes a nice second when splitting a talented pair in the Chilukki (G3) beneath the Twin Spires in November, and the Good Magic mare has trained well here in preparation for her second run on the course. The five-year-old John Gallegos homebred has enough gate speed to stay in touch with the group from the break and will be primed for success at the top of the stretch with excellent jockey Tyler Gaffalione retaining the ride.

One Magic Philly cuts back to win R6 at @keeneland for trainer @brenpwalsh with Flavien Prat in the saddle! 🏇

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/yuXhFOlDJ5

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) October 11, 2025

The shape of the race might not set up perfectly for the Jose D’Angelo-trained Vincey Girl, who loves to rally into a fast and contested early pace. Nonetheless, the gray has very good hidden form and still possesses a lot of value in the heat. The Race Day mare rallied past a nice sprint field at Gulfstream Park in the summer, and the five-year-old was also a smart allowance winner in her seasonal debut off a six-month absence at Tampa Bay Downs most recently, as well. The Kentucky-bred gray will make one run from off the early tempo with Irad in the stirrups, and she wouldn’t be a surprise to me at a fair price.

Stakes victress Lotsandlotsofcandy has four wins and a second from her six lifetime runs on the dirt and can be very good on her best day. The well-managed daughter of Twirling Candy has been working in rapid fashion as of late, with three bullet morning works in succession to indicate that she is ready to run her best race on Saturday. She has two wins from three prior runs at Churchill Downs in her career and will bring a lot of speed from the gate to the field for trainer Paul McGee. Brian Hernandez, Jr. will ride the fast mare.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #1 One Magic Philly on top of #4 Lotsandlotsofcandy and #7 Vincey Girl in the 2026 Roxelana Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.