The Honeybee – Grade III [KYO]
OP Race #1 1 1/16m Dirt Graded Stake
Purse $400.000 For Fillies Three Years Old.
The search for KYO qualification heats up here with a very good race that will throw up a serious contender for the big filly’s race. Here is how they line up:
1 Hobo Blues Alydar Stables Pennington F
Alydar Stables forked out $300.000 for this filly after they won a rather innocuous maiden at DED but that decision was more than vindicated when she got home first in the Marthas Wish. Running from a wide draw she dug really deep that day and won by a head in a style that suggests she is an up-and-coming filly who is not out of place in this tough race. I like the way she has been progressing in her works and as long as she doesn’t get buried from this draw, she should be a serious contender.
2 Star Sapphire Fractious Franco M
There is no doubting that this stable has gone up a gear this year and this daughter of Neon Wolf is a great example of the sort of thing that seems to happen with their horses. Ordinary in her first two races she then took a little maiden at FL from a wide draw and looked to be improving. Roll on a couple of months and she won a competitive allowance at FG and then the Gasperilla Stakes seemingly putting her average form well behind her. She comes her with three wins in a row and gets the perfect draw to make that four and she certainly runs like this trip will suit her.
3 Reflex Action D J C Racing Stables Centeno D E
Won the grade one Frizette and looked a serious BC contender before running inexplicably poorly in that race from what looked like a favorable draw. In her next start she won the Demoiselle beating Reaper Lightening which just goes to show just how hard it is to find consistency in the game as that coupled with the Frizette win put her close to the top of her generation. First up this year she was beaten a head by Hobo Blues in the Marthas Wish and there will be very little between them again today as both hit the line hard. This is the fourth time in a row that she has drawn number three in a stakes race which in itself must be long odds, but it certainly means she knows how to see this race out tactically.
4 Your Next TwinTowersRacing Geroux F
The stable is in fine form at the moment so this filly must be given a chance even though she was well beaten in the Marthas Wish last time. In her first two starts she was unbeaten and the winner of the Mazarine BC Stakes so things were looking very good. She lost nothing in defeat when third in the Demioselle in her third start coming from a long way back after being buried from the ace draw so that form puts her very close to winning a race like this. She was sixth in the Marthas Wish on seasonal debut which gives her something to find with a couple of her rivals, but she again got well back at a crucial time and ran home well so I wouldn’t imagine improvement would be beyond her. The key here is what the race engine does with her, closers have a disadvantage on this race engine and things have to go right for them to win so if things do then she could win.
5 Fake Sunset Fractious Moore R L
Fractious is quite happy to put their money up to get good horses and this was another big buy for the stable when they purchased her for $450.000. She won three in a row including the Adirondack but then went off the boil in her next two before returning to form in the BC Juvenile Fillies to finish third. On her best form she is certainly a big chance here, but She doesn’t seem to possess a telling turn of foot and I worry that something else will out finish her.
6 Radio Ruffian TwinTowersRacing Beschizza A
As I said earlier this stable is in good form and this filly certainly has form to her name that gives her a big chance in this race. True to how HRP can be she ran a stinker in the Frizette but that can happen these days with all the horses so close in ability, so it is best to ignore that run. She flew home from an impossible position in the Demoiselle to be a brilliant and eye catching fourth and that race has a lot of connections to this one so it will be interesting to see how these rivals do today. She won the Silverbulletday on seasonal debut beating Judicial Watch and Barbara who have done well since so she is another who has a real chance.
7 Let Me Explain Mb Stables Velazquez J R
Won six in a row as a two-year-old including an easy win in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf but proved she was not exclusively a turfer with a game win in the Golden Rod in her last juvenile start. She looked pretty unbeatable at that point but was pretty easily brushed aside in the Southwest on seasonal debut but that was against the boys so it may be best to forgive that effort. Back to her own sex today there is no reason she won’t get back to winning ways and her works certainly suggest she should be one of the favorites to win.
8 Divine Moonlight Smokey Stover Lopez P
There are only a few stables at HRP with spending power, we mentioned one earlier and this is another who is happy to put down good money to get what they want. This filly with just three starts under her belt won the grade two Starlet in her last start and that was possibly why the $600.000 price tag doesn’t look too high and a quick glance at her works suggests she is well above average. My one small problem with her win was that most of the horses she beat in the Starlet haven’t turned out to be Oaks contenders and that is a worry but the fact that it was only her third start, and she is working as fast as the best three-year-old fillies in the game suggests she has improved from that effort.
9 Killeacle Girl The Sidley Stud Elliott S
A three-race winner from a stable that knows how to win good races she deserves a shot here, but this is a very tough field, and she may be out classed.
10 Wrong Farm Winning Link Stables Gaffalione T
Second to Divine Moonlight in the Starlet she disappointed in the Busanda last time after getting taken out of the race by the wide draw and doesn’t get many favors today to fair better. She is in the race so has a chance but on form there looks better win chances.
11 Lady Lara Night Mare Racing Davila J R Jr
Everyone loves an unbeaten horse, and this filly currently sits at three from three. She didn’t go the easy way to get that record winning the Fern Creek and the NY Stallion Series- Fifth Avenue so she is clearly above average, and it will be interesting to see how she runs today. Her running style so far has been as a closer so she may well go back from this wide draw so she will need the usual engine luck to find a way through, but you never know how they will go so I wouldn’t say that was beyond her. An exciting prospect who may end up clear favorite for the KYO if she wins again.
12 Prevail Arindel Saez L
In the car park we find the Princess Elizabeth winner who like the filly inside her is a closer by nature so far. She only just timed it right when winning her last race and will need all the engine luck if she runs like that again today. She has the ability so it’s not impossible, but I wonder what might happen if the stable uses the gaming button or the race engine kicks her out of the stalls to use the wide gate speed push and lead. That could put the cat among the pigeons as we have seen before but either way, she has a chance.
SUMMARY
As usual with a race like this you have to think what the race engine will do as there are plenty of fillies with winning chances. With the wide gates likely to go back we may see something from inside them get a soft lead and that could be the winning of the race. Mb and Smokey are the most likely to take advantage of that and both of their fillies could be good choices.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES
