The March 11 running of the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes has proven one of the key races of the 2017 Oaklawn Park season.
Six 3-year-old fillies in the field have gone on to capture stakes races, winner It Tiz Well in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks at Delaware Park, runner-up Benner Island in the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs and Elate in the Light Hearted at Delaware Park. In addition, fifth-place Honeybee finisher Ever So Clever won Oaklawn's Grade 3 Fantasy in her next start April 14.
It Tiz Well and Elate return to action Saturday in Saratoga's premier event for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 $600,000 Alabama. Drayden Van Dyke rides It Tiz Well for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, and Jose Ortiz gets the call from Hall of Famer Bill Mott aboard Elate, third in the nine-furlong CCA Oaks. Owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, Elate is a daughter of Oaklawn stakes winners Medaglia d'Oro and Cheery.
Mott, seeking his third Alabama victory, also sends out Lockdown, who has multiple graded placings from six career starts. Manny Franco has the mount. All Alabama starters carry 121 pounds.
With division leader Abel Tasman sitting out the race after winning Saratoga's Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks last month, the 137th Alabama pits last-out Grade 1 winners New Money Honey and Unchained Melody at a mile and a quarter. It's the first dirt race for New Money Honey, trained by reigning Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, after four wins and a second in six starts on grass.
New Money Honey won at the Alabama distance defeating stablemate Sistercharlie by a neck in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks July 8. Recent Hall of Fame inductee Javier Castellano, a three-time Alabama winner, has the mount on the Medaglia d'Oro filly, last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner at Santa Anita.
"I'm excited about trying her on the dirt; this filly has been training super," Brown said. "It's something I've always thought about; running her on the dirt now seems like the right time to try it. The distance of the race should really suit her."
Unchained Melody makes her Saratoga debut and first start beyond 1 1/16 miles after winning Belmont Park's Grade 1 Mother Goose July 1. Joel Rosario keeps the mount.
"I don't think there is a lot of speed, so if she's comfortable on the lead, then I'll leave her alone," said trainer Brian Lynch. "She's been good. A lot of horses do well up here this time of year and she appears to be one of them."
Holy Helena, winner of Woodbine's Queen's Plate for trainer Jimmy Jerkens, makes her graded-stakes debut in the Alabama, Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard. Also entered are Grade 2 winner Actress, trained by Jason Servis; Salty (Mark Casse) and Mopotism (Doug O'Neill).
Along with the Grade 2 Lake Placid for 3-year-old fillies on the grass, the Alabama, set for 4:22 p.m. CDT, anchors the 10-race card on the fifth Saturday of the 40-day Saratoga meeting.
* Saturday's Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar features a rematch between champion Arrogate and his last-out San Diego Handicap upsetter, Accelerate. Eight older horses, two each trained by O'Neill and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, go a mile and a quarter in the premier race of the California seaside track's summer season. All carry 124 pounds, program favorite Arrogate breaking from post eight under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith and Accelerate from post three with new Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza. Post time for the Pacific Classic is 7:30 p.m. CDT.
Sports on 08/17/2017