Honor Code Towers Over Kelso Handicap Field

In his final prep before an expected start in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), Honor Code will face six rivals in the $400,000 Kelso Handicap (gr. II) Oct. 3 at Belmont Park.

For Lane's End Racing and Dell Ridge Farm's Honor Code, it will be a return to the one-turn mile distance at which the son of A.P. Indy has delivered some of his most memorable efforts, including his 3 1/4-length victory in this year's Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) at Belmont. Honor Code opened the year with a clear victory in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II), also a one-turn mile.

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Of course Honor Code most recently showed he also can thrive at longer distances, winning the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course. He has earned Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" berths to the Dirt Mile (gr. I) through his Met Mile win and the Classic (gr. I) through his Whitney score.

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Honor Code is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in the Kelso, where he will spot his rivals six to 11 pounds as the 124-pound highweight.

The only other three starters in single-digit odds are Jon and Sarah Kelly's Red Vine, a stakes winner who most recently finished third in the TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I); Gary Barber's Appealing Tale, who will stretch out one furlong after winning the Pat O'Brien Stakes (gr. II) Aug. 22 at Del Mar; and Shadwell Stable's Tamarkuz, who won this year's Godolphin Mile Sponsored by Meydan Sobha (UAE-II).