Donnie Von Hemel got the weather he wanted and the outcome in the Honeybee Stakes he desired.
Although raindrops could be felt at Oaklawn Park, the heavy rain and thunderstorms expected Saturday did not materialize. This augured well for the Von Hemel-trained stakes winner Cosmic Burst, who sputtered when third in the $125,000 Martha Washington Feb. 10, going a mile in the mud in her 3-year-old debut.
"But every time I turned on the TV last week, the weather forecast for Saturday got worse," said Von Hemel, who trains Cosmic Burst for longtime clients Norma Lee Stockseth and Todd Dunn.
As post time neared on Saturday, Von Hemel was elated that the National Weather Service guessed wrongly. And then was gratified that Cosmic Burst checked all the boxes correctly when asked to validate her Kentucky Oaks credentials in the Grade 3 $200,000 Honeybee.
The bay filly outkicked Oaklawn stakes winners Amy's Challenge (Dixie Belle) and Red Ruby (Martha Washington) in the lane and won by a length and three quarters. Paying $10.80 to win, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Violence-Peggy Ring went a mile and sixteenth in 1:44.19, the same distance that she gained her second-out maiden victory last fall at Keeneland.
"Last time she didn't like the racetrack because it was so sloppy," said winning jockey Richard Eramia, "but today she ... ran like she was supposed to."
All Von Hemel could say -- and not just about the race result -- was, "It's a relief."
For Oaks purposes, Cosmic Burst received 50 points toward a possible start in the May 4 classic at Churchill Downs in Louisville Ky. Amy's Challenge earned 20 for placing second, Sassy Sienna 10 for third and Red Ruby 5 for fourth.
"We saw the filly we expected to see last time," Von Hemel said. "You can probably blame the track a little bit for last time. She wasn't herself from the get-go that day for whatever reason. Hopefully, she's back on track."
Amy's Challenge, perfect in three starts, two of them stakes, but here stretching out to two turns, might have left her race in the paddock. With the weather holding off and before a crowd estimated at 17,500, the seven Honeybee fillies were saddled on the infield.
"She got a little keyed up in front of the crowd," said trainer Mac Robertson. "Her other races have been sprints so she's been on the backside where it's quiet. I noticed in the post parade she broke out (in sweat) more than I would have liked. She was pretty pumped."
Amy's Challenge expended more energy when loose on the lead through a half in 46.02 seconds (leading by eight lengths) and three quarters in 1:10.27 (seven lengths). That she wilted in the stretch was not surprising; that she held second by a length and a quarter showed spunk.
"If I could have gotten that second quarter just a second slower, I think she keeps going," said jockey Jareth Loveberry. "But she was just kind of excited, first time running two turns. She ran hard even running for home. ... they came to her and she dug in and tired. That's all I can ask for her."
Red Ruby, the 4-5 favorite, could not duplicate her Martha Washington performance, overtaken by Cosmic Burst when Amy's Challenge hit the wall.
Cosmic Burst earned $120,000, giving the filly $267,080 with a 4-for-6 record. Next up for some if not all is April's Grade 3 $400,000 Fantasy Stakes at a mile and sixteenth. For those superstitious, it's on Friday the 13th.
Sports on 03/11/2018