The Honeybee (Grade 3)- $500.000 Purse
OP- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
Febraury 22, 2025

Last Saturday, the Alexandra kicked off the 50-point races for the KYO, and now all eyes will be at OP on Saturday as the 19th running of the Honeybee takes place for the second 50-pointer of the season. To celebrate, OP has raised the purse this year to $500.000, up $100.000 from where it was last year, and that too, was a $100.000 increase over the prior year. The Honeybee has truly seen some exceptional winners over the years, even if the winning filly did not necessarily go on to win the KYO. It was particularly strong race for Smokey Stover, as the trainer went on to win four Honeybee trophies, with the most recent in 2023 with Shadow State. He won’t be back this year, and no recent Smokey Stover purchases are in the field, either. In 2024, Mb Stables won for the second time, doing so with Let Me Explain, which was one of five races she won during the year. Nine will head to the gate, and those who ran here in the Martha Washington last month are well represented. Here’s the field!

1- Confident Elegance (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Certainly establishing herself as one of the favorites for the KYO, if not the top choice. After winning the $300.000 Martha Washington here last month by half a length, Confident Elegance made it five wins out of her six career starts. If you want to nit pick, you can point out that she has not been in a graded race until right now, but that’s not much of an argument since the Martha Washington was probably tougher than some small Grade 3’s out there. Looking forward to see her battle Soliloquy Sunset, in particular, again.

2- Nice Cat (Bombay Stables, ridden by F S Valdez)- This poor, poor filly. She’s making her stake debut after breaking her maiden at SUN, and when she looks to her left in the gate, she sees Confident Elegance, and to her right, she has Soliloquy Sunset. It was a nice win at SUN and all, but she doesn’t have it easy in the gate. Fortunately, she doesn’t know enough to be intimidated by them.

3- Soliloquy Sunset (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Entered the Martha Washington on a perfect 5-for-5 streak, and had won the Frizette and the BC Juvenile Fillies leading into it. There was nothing wrong with her race in the Martha Washington, either, except for the fact that she was caught by Confident Elegance. Now, both of them have five wins and a second in six starts, and they will meet for the second time in their careers here. They may be seeing a lot of one another this year.

4- Down On The Beat (Night Mare Racing, ridden by Ar Bocachica)- Had a strong SAR meet, winning the Schuylerville, as well as finishing second in the Astoria and the Spinaway. Once she left the Spa, she would get acquainted with Soliloquy Sunset, taking her on in the both the Frizette and the BC Juvenile Fillies. With her late running style, she was only able to get to the middle of the field in each of them, missing by two lengths each time. Returns to the track for the first time since the BC here.

5- Scrumdiddlyumptious (La Canada Racehorses, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- With four wins in nine starts, this PA-bred is looking to extend her winning streak to three. Ran in stakes earlier in career, and did win a statebred stake for $100.000 in September, but after struggling in the Chandelier, she was dialed back. Now, after two high level optional claiming wins, she is not simply back at this level, but sees a couple monsters.

6- Us Against The World (Mb Stables, ridden by P Lopez)- Mb Stables looks to win this race for the second time, and Us Against The World should be ready to run right out of the starting gate. She’s typically on or near the lead early on, and her last two races, she was caught by a couple of rivals to finish third both times, missing by half a length. Those were both at the Big A, the Grade 2 Demoiselle, as well as the Busanda. Her last work doesn’t impress, but there can be reasons for that.

7- Stink Eye (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- Broke her maiden at the Spa in August in her fourth career start, and that victory sent her into the stakes ranks. She has not won again, but after running third in the Grade 1 Spinaway, she showed that she can handle the competition level. However, she may need to show that she can do that again, as she has lost her last two starts by a combined eight lengths. One of them was BC Juvenile Fillies, but she flat in her run after that.

8- Twizted Tea (Asgar, ridden by J P Spencer)- Similar to Stink Eye in that she is going to need to show that she can still handle this company. After winning the Sorrento Stakes (Grade 3) in August, Twizted Tea has finished exactly sixth in three of four races, and wasn’t really close in any of them. In the mix there was a second place effort in the Frizette, losing by a head at the wire to none other than Soliloquy Sunset. Perhaps she is just becoming one of those inconsistent types, but that Frizette side of her needs to appear.

9- Lucille (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Her strong two year old season was highlighted by how she handled the turf, winning the KD Juvenile Fillies, a $750.000 race, as well as the Jessamine, but she would not run well in the BC Juvenile Fillies. She would head back to the dirt after that, and defeated all rivals in the Demoiselle after that. However, she was a non factor in the Martha Washington, and it really seems like she is a better horse than that. Worked well, so will be ready to go and could potentially steal the show here.

Prediction: 1-3-9-6

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES