Two of Five Stand Out in Honey Dew

Honey Dew Stakes

Grade III

Seven and half furlongs

Firm Turf

$150,000

Fillies and mares, 2 years old

I sit here awaiting the Meadowlands Cup via my broadband connection, but let’s turn our attention across the sim ocean to the Honey Dew in Ostend, Belgium.  It’s juvenile fillies at the Flemish beachfront, so as the North Sea weather begins to turn to winter gray, let’s see if we have any future stars in our midst.  Just five line up on the firm going.

1 158520 RATATOUILLE(KY)  bestobene5  V Casey  9/1    

The first position is held by this Bandini filly, offspring of a Storm Cat mare (CAT DOOR) with a mere 2-race career.  She’s got two prominent half siblings, stakes placed SLAM THE DOOR SHUT(KY) and Grade 3 winner MYLEDES(IRE), both of whom prefer dirt.  It was quite a surprise when this miss won her last after switching back to turf, since her first race was on that surface and not at all impressive.  While it was a last-at-track restricted allowance, she scored a respectable 72 in what was actually her maiden breaker.

2 134729 ON HER TOES(SAF)  safrace1  L Nielson  10/1    

WESTERN WINTER x BADGER LAND x ACCIPITER is not a common sight in the stakes ranks, but this South African bred has won two on turf since a nice career-opening second placing.  It’s not a bargain breeding from the looks of it, but rare nonetheless.  Western Winter is throwing some stakes horses, but there’s been a tendency to dirt sprinting among them.  One would guess Nielson will try to gun to the front and steal a score.

3 160433 TAMORA(IND)  chop  A Smith  7/5    

I don’t know what’s up with the Indian sires, but there sure are a lot more of them than there used to be.  The sire of this one, Marcus Andronicus, won only a maiden race but was nonetheless a Grade 1-placed miler in Europe.  As a Danehill out of the top Rainbow Quest mare Fiji, he has every right to have a good stud career.  And he’s started out well in his freshman season, with this lass as one of his three stakes winners.  She’s as well bred on the back end as you could want, being out of a Seattle Slew/Sadler’s Wells mare who won stakes as a 2-year-old back in 2000 but never really progressed from there.  Anyhow, TAMORA(IND) has achievements in her own right, coming in off two Irish stakes, a win in the Grade 2 More Glare and a second in a Grade 3 before that.  She’s handy and doesn’t need to chase the leaders.  She’s a big threat to be a repeat winner if she equals her recent mid-80s speeds and can hunt down pacesetting LITE ON MY FEET(JPN). 

4 164327 JAIMEE(FR)  soulbleed  J Van Dam  9/2    

Trempolino took a mighty fall as a sire last season, drawing a goose egg on stakes winners.  Well, maybe this gal, her lone stakes winner in the 2008 crop (from only 18 foals), can help put him back on track.  She’s a smart 3 for 5 with a stakes win back in August.  Her last was a step backward, but losing a half furlong in distance might help.  It wouldn’t seem a deep closer would need to be in shorter sprint races, so maybe the transatlantic trip for the Florida stakes last time took something out of her, or she’s one of those who only likes European grass (those southern American ones can be hard or sandy).  Not out of it, but at 9/2 I might let her beat me.

5 11299 LITE ON MY FEET(JPN)  sonofsham  E Dewulf  6/5    

She was a much stronger second in the same race as JAIMEE(FR) in Florida last out, running loose on the lead before a potential blueblood monster, DENCORAS PRAYER(KY), ran her down.  That’s the only horse to beat her in her four race career, so now the Fantastic Light filly switches to Europe with her two stakes wins in the bag.  She’s run strong 80s, and as a frontrunner she’ll need to put away ON HER TOES(SAF) in order to give TAMORA(IND) the slip and salt away the victory here.

 Okay, time to go watch the Meadowlands Cup!