Atomic Blonde to Make Graded Stakes Debut in Honey Fox

One start after rallying along the inside to post a clear victory in the Jan. 25 South Beach Stakes on the Gulfstream Park turf, Atomic Blonde returns to that course for her graded stakes debut Feb. 29 in the $150,000 Honey Fox Stakes (G3T).

The Fountain of Youth Day card features nine graded stakes, including two turf races for older fillies and mares: the Honey Fox at one mile and The Very One Stakes (G3T) at 1 3/16 miles, where trainer Graham Motion will send out a trio of top contenders.

John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services' Atomic Blonde opened her 4-year-old season with that 1 1/2-length victory in the South Beach. That followed a debut 3-year-old season in which the daughter of Scat Daddy won two of her first three starts for trainer Todd Pletcher before finishing third in the Winter Memories Stakes on yielding turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in her stakes debut.

Javier Castellano, who guided Atomic Blonde to victory in the 7 1/2-furlong South Beach, is scheduled to ride Saturday.

Video: South Beach S. (BT)

Awaiting Atomic Blonde in the expected field of 11 is two-time grade 3 winner Valedictorian, who finished second in last year's Honey Fox. Trained by Kelly Breen, Epic Racing's Valedictorian, by Temple City , will be making her 6-year-old debut.

In The Very One, Motion will send out Kiyoshi Maekawa's Touriga, a group 1 winner in Brazil who closed 2019 with a victory in the Via Borghese Stakes on the Gulfstream turf and enters off a third-place finish in the La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T) there; Alex Frost's Queen of Time, who makes her United States debut after a busy 2019 in which she raced nine times in Europe; and Madaket Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, and Robert Masiello's Empressof the Nile, who last year won the Zagora Stakes at Aqueduct and placed in the Glens Falls Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga Race Course.

Motion said Queen of Time should like the distance and may need even a bit farther. He said Empressof the Nile, a 6-year-old daughter of Pioneerof the Nile, has had a couple of good works and appears to be a good fit and that Touriga, a 5-year-old daughter of Put It Back, is a consistent type who likes running at Gulfstream.

"I haven't done a lot with her," Motion said of Touriga, one of three 122-pound highweights in the expected field of 12 with Empressof the Nile and Ferdinanda, a stakes winner last year at Colonial Downs. "I kind of figured out after her last few races, I don't think she needs to do very much. I think she appreciates not doing too much. She didn't have the best trip last time when my other filly kind of got loose on the lead but has run very credible the last couple of times and put some consistent form lines together. The reason I wanted to run her back is she's done well down there, she obviously handles the track well, and she appreciates this distance. It just made sense to run."

Entries: Honey Fox S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 29, 2020, Race 5

• Grade IIIT
• 1m
• Turf
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:27 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Silver Kitten (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Danny Gargan	10/1
2	2Atomic Blonde (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	Todd A. Pletcher	9/2
3	3Sweet Hitch Hiker (FL)	Jairo Rendon	118	Lilli Kurtinecz	20/1
4	4La Feve (FR)	Florent Geroux	118	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	6/1
5	5Steelin Magnolias (FL)	Edgar S. Prado	118	Stacy Lane Hendry	20/1
6	6Conquest Hardcandy (NY)	Edgard J. Zayas	120	Antonio Sano	10/1
7	7Getmotherarose (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Thomas M. Bush	15/1
8	8Miss Munnings (KY)	Manuel Franco	118	John C. Kimmel	8/1
9	9Sister Hanan (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	118	Ben Colebrook	15/1
10	10Munchkin Money (NY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Christophe Clement	4/1
11	11Valedictorian (NJ)	Paco Lopez	122	Kelly J. Breen	7/2

Entries: The Very One S. (G3T)

Gulfstream Park, Saturday, February 29, 2020, Race 7

• Grade IIIT
• 1 3/16m
• Turf
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 2:27 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Layla Noor (KY)	Edgard J. Zayas	118	Arnaud Delacour	20/1
2	2Touriga (BRZ)	John R. Velazquez	122	H. Graham Motion	8/1
3	3Queen of Time (GB)	Junior Alvarado	122	H. Graham Motion	12/1
4	4Ferdinanda (VA)	Manuel Franco	122	Barclay Tagg	5/1
5	5Cap de Creus (KY)	Flavien Prat	118	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
6	6Lemon Zip (ON)	Tyler Conner	118	Niall Saville	9/2
7	7Romantic Pursuit (KY)	Joe Bravo	118	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	6/1
8	8La Signare (FR)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Brendan P. Walsh	12/1
9	9Elizabeth Way (IRE)	Paco Lopez	118	Roger L. Attfield	20/1
10	10Empressof the Nile (KY)	Javier Castellano	122	H. Graham Motion	4/1
11	11Raining Lemons (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Michael R. Matz	20/1
12	12English Affair (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	George R. Arnold, II	10/1