Southern Honey Seeks Repeat in Winning Colors

A field of 10 fillies and mares is set for the $100,000 Winning Colors Stakes (gr. III) May 25 at Churchill Downs.



Headlining the six-furlong sprint is Ashbrook Farm's Southern Honey, whose most recent victory came when she won last year's edition of the Winning Colors as a 3-year-old and will be making her first start since running sixth, beaten six lengths, in last year's DraftKings Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park. Trainer George Arnold says that the homebred daughter of Colonel John   is coming into the race well after having spent a relaxing winter in Ocala, Fla.



"We brought her back in March and she's been doing very well since then," Arnold said. "Her works have been good and we gave her some (time) off. She's ready to go."



Southern Honey has won two of three starts over the Churchill main track.



In addition to her triumph in the Winning Colors last year, she won an allowance/optional claiming race at Churchill last May. Julien Leparoux has the mount on the 4-year-old filly, who was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite.



Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Spring Included is coming into the Winning Colors with two straight stakes victories at Oaklawn Park. The homebred daughter of Include, trained by Steve Hobby, triumphed in the Spring Fever and Carousel Stakes earlier this year.



Last year, Spring Included went 1-for-4 when running around two turns and she'll look to add a graded stakes victory to her résumé. Her best finish against such competition was a runner-up effort in the Valley View (gr. III) at Keeneland last fall, behind Sparkling Review. Jockey Joe Rocco, Jr. will be in the irons as the 3-1 second-choice.



Westrock Stables' Heykittykittykitty is coming off of a victory in the Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs Classic Distaff Sprint Stakes against Oklahoma-bred fillies and mares. Trainer Ron Moquett has her cross-entered in Monday's RPDC Classic Distaff at Will Rogers Downs, but has stated that he is leaning toward running her in the Winning Colors.



"She's an Oklahoma-bred, but I'd like to run here," Moquett said. "It's coming up to be a really nice stakes race, so we'll see what we do. We'll probably put her in here and make some money."



The 4-year-old daughter of Tactical Cat has been in the money in all but one of her 15 career starts, when she ran a well-beaten fourth in the Oklahoma Classic Distaff Sprint last October at Will Rogers Downs. This will be her first start against graded stakes company. Jockey Didiel Osorio, also looking for his first graded stakes win, has the mount. She's 8-1 on the morning line.