Expert Pick of the Week: 2026 Winning Colors Stakes

May 20, 2026 John Mucciolo/TwinSpires.com

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

A very talented field of eight fillies and mares will run six furlongs on the dirt at Churchill Downs in the $250,000 Winning Colors (G3) on Memorial Day. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will send out Grade 1 heroine Usha in the contest, and she will be tough with her best effort while making her second run beneath the Twin Spires. The talented Kentucky-bred filly took five tries to earn her first career victory, and she has been on a good run ever since that win.

The $600,000 auction buy earned her biggest win to date when dominating her foes in the 2025 La Brea (G1) in her three-year-old finale two back, and she validated that score with a strong third behind two excellent runners in the Derby City Distaff (G1) on this surface last time out. Bred in the Empire State, the daughter of Tiz the Law will improve in her second try of the season with Florent Geroux picking up the mount.

Trainer Mike Maker will saddle Foie Gras in the sprint race, and she has been on a nice run leading up to her return to Louisville. By good sire Volatile, the filly was purchased for $100,000 at public auction in December and has run three very good races in succession for her new connections, with two of those runs resulting in stakes victories.

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The Kentucky-bred four-year-old comes off a nice runner-up finish behind a very good horse in the Matron S. at Oaklawn Park and has posted four solid morning workouts in the interim. Foie Gras owns a strong closing kick and will benefit from being on the rail to save ground early before being asked for her substantial late run. She has won twice on the Churchill dirt in the past and will be flying home with Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the stirrups.

One Magic Philly has run two of the better races in her lifetime at this venue, led by a fantastic triumph in the Roxelana S. on April 25. Conditioned by Brendan Walsh, the five-year-old daughter of Good Magic responded to the blinkers going back on last time, and while she will face tougher foes in this dash, the mare has worked well leading up to Monday and will be well placed turning for home with Tyler Gaffalione in the irons.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #7 Usha on top of #1 Foie Gras and #6 One Magic Philly in the Winning Colors Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.