Tough Field Awaits Honor Code in Whitney

Honor Code, coming off his first Grade 1 win, looks like a tough horse to beat in the Whitney. (Photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
A "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Classic  in late October, the 88th running of the Grade 1, $1.25-million Whitney Invitational Stakes may be one for the ages as eight of the 10 enter the race off first or second place finishes. Two horses in the remarkably talented field come into the race off grade 1 wins – Honor Code in the Metropolitan Handicap (Met Mile) and Noble Bird in the Stephen Foster. Metropolitan runner-up Tonalist and Foster runner-up Lea are both previous Grade 1 stakes winners and contenders on every level. Last year's Whitney winner, Moreno, enters the race off an eighth place effort in the Gold Cup in California but has rebounded off poor efforts more than once in his career. V. E. Day and Coach Inge finished second and third, respectively, in the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap last month, the same race Moreno finished second in last year before winning this race. Last year's Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes winner, Wicked Strong is on a pattern for improvement while Liam's Map brings a four race winning streak into his first try in a graded stakes. 2013 Kentucky Derby fourth place finisher Normandy Invasion has run second in both starts this year and adds even more depth to the field.
Main Contenders:
Honor Code has run eight times in his career, winning five times and finishing second in two others. He won the Gulfstream Park Handicap in March to start his four year old campaign then returned two months later and finished a disappointing fifth before rebounding with a huge effort in the Met Mile in June. In the Met Mile, Honor Code made a breathtaking rally from ninth on the turn, from eight lengths back and while six paths wide, drawing off to win by nearly four lengths. Earning a career best 122 Equibase Speed Figure while winning his first grade 1 race, Honor Code may have more improvement to show us on his way to meeting some of these same horses, as well as American Pharoah, this fall at Keeneland in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Noble Bird is another 4-year-old who has run the best races of his career lately. Including a win in March in his second start of the year, Noble Bird has won three of four, missing by just a head in the other. In his most recent effort, at the mile and one-eighth distance of the Whitney, Noble Bird earned a 119 figure gamely winning the Stephen Foster Handicap over Lea and in doing so earned a starting spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Usually in the top three from the start, Noble Bird should once again be in a position that avoids traffic trouble and gives him every right to win his second grade 1 stakes in a row.
NOBLE BIRD AFTER WINNING THE STEPHEN FOSTER

Lea returned in June from a trip halfway across the world to Dubai and missed by a neck to Noble Bird in the Foster. The 119 figure he earned was on par with the 120 figure from his winning effort in the Donn Handicap in February of 2014. Never worse than second in his U.S. races this year and last, Lea is another proven at the level and distance and would be no surprise if in the photo finish on the wire in this year's Whitney.
Other contenders:
Tonalist suffered a very tough defeat when last seen, missing by a head on the wire in the Suburban Handicap on July 4. Prior to that, Tonalist made what looked to be a winning rally in the Met Mile only to be outfinished by Honor Code. The 124 figure earned when winning the Westchester Stakes in May and the 122 figure when almost winning the Suburban suggest that if he runs his best race, Tonalist is another that could be right there at the wire.
TONALIST WINNING THE JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP

Moreno won the 2014 Whitney, leading from start to finish with a career best 123 figure. Since then, Moreno has learned to come from off the pace as well, which helped him win this year's Charles Town Classic Stakes in April with a 119 figure. In his most recent race, Moreno faded to eighth in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, but he has bounced back from similarly poor effort in the past such as when second in last year's Suburban so he cannot be totally counted out as a contender.
The rest of the field:
Liam's Map earned a career best 118 figure winning the non-graded Harlan's Holiday stakes last December and returned six months later to win in a field of four in June with a 114 figure. He's got improving to do and facing graded stakes company for the first time is a class test to be sure.
V. E. Day posted the 19.50-to1 upset last year when he was our top pick in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga but is winless in four races since. However, he returned to competitive form when leading late and coming up a neck shy in the Brooklyn Stakes in June with a career best 113 figure. Just the same, it would take significant improvement to get to the 122 – 124 figure level the top contenders are capable of so he may be relegated to a minor award.
V. E. DAY (LEFT) BATTLING WICKED STRONG IN THE 2014 TRAVERS

Wicked Strong is best known as a Grade 1 winner last spring then coming up a neck short to V.E. Day in the Travers with a 112 figure. He's winless in five races since and doesn't appear to be up to a competitive grade 1 stakes effort at this time.
Coach Inge led in the stretch in the Suburban but was passed by both Tonalist and winner Effinex. Nevertheless, he earned a career best 120 figure in the race, his third straight improvement. Prior to that Coach Inge won the Brooklyn Stakes with a game effort as he had led from nearly the start then gave up the lead late only to fight back and win by a neck.
Normandy Invasion may be best remembered for finishing second in the 2013 Wood Memorial then fourth in the Kentucky Derby behind Orb. He won his first start at four last year before a poor effort and a 13 month layoff. Returning last month, Normandy Invasion has run second twice, with 107 and 111 figures, but doesn’t appear good enough to threaten the main contenders here if repeated.
Top Three Contenders:
Honor Code
Noble Bird
Lea
$1,250,000 Whitney Invitational StakesSaturday, Saratoga Race Course, Race 9, 5:46 p.m. ET1 1/8 miles, dirt, 3-year-olds and olderWin and You're In for Breeders' Cup ClassicTV: NBC, 5-6 p.m. ET

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owners

ML

1

Honor Code

Javier Castellano

Shug McGaughey

Lane’s End Racing and Dell Ridge Farm

3-1

2

Tonalist

John Velazquez

Christophe Clement

Robert S. Evans

4-1

3

Noble Bird

Shaun Bridgmohan

Mark Casse

John Oxley

5-1

4

Liam's Map

Mike Smith

Todd Pletcher

Teresa Viola Racing Stables

6-1

5

Moreno

Cornelio Velasquez

Eric Guillot

Southern Equine Stable

12-1

6

V. E. Day

Junior Alvarado

Jimmy Jerkens

Magalen O. Bryant

8-1

7

Lea

Joel Rosario

Bill Mott

Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider

9-2

8

Coach Inge

Irad Ortiz Jr.

Todd Pletcher

Repole Stable

15-1

9

Wicked Strong

Luis Saez

Jimmy Jerkens

Centennial Farms

20-1

10

Normandy Invasion

Kerwin Clark

Larry Jones

Fox Hill Farms

30-1