Sandiva Heads Strong Honey Fox Field
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Leslie Martin
Sandiva won the Marshua's River Stakes at Gulfstream on January 9.
Sandiva, quite at home over the Gulfstream Park turf, will go the likely favorite in the April 2 $300,000 Honey Fox Stakes (gr. IIT) at a mile for older fillies and mares at the Hallandale, Fla., oval.
Trained by Todd Pletcher for Al Shaqab Racing, Sandiva has won stakes at Gulfstream in three consecutive seasons, taking the 2014 Tropical Park Oaks, last year's Suwannee River Stakes (gr. IIIT), and this season's Marshua's River Stakes (gr. IIIT). The 5-year-old Footstepsinthesand mare most recently tried dirt for the first time in her 19-race career and ran a solid second in the Royal Delta Stakes (gr. II). She will, however, be cutting back in distance for the Honey Fox, and has not won at a mile in eight career tries.
Tammy the Torpedo will also be shortening up to a mile after her score in the nine-furlong Suwannee River Feb. 6, in which she went wire-to-wire. That represented a change in tactics for the 4-year-old daughter of More Than Ready , who has usually been placed mid-pack in her races for trainer Chad Brown. Tammy the Torpedo took last December's Tropical Park Oaks with a late run and is a perfect two-for-two at Gulfstream.
Lady Lara ended last season with a score in the My Charmer Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Gulfstream Park West and began this season at Tampa Bay Downs, where she finished second to champion Tepin in the Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes (gr. IIIT). The Bill Mott trainee has been very consistent in graded company over the past year and defeated Sandiva in the My Charmer.
Lightly raced Elusive Collection got off the Woodbine Polytrack for the first time in her career last out and ran evenly to be fourth in the Sand Springs Stakes at Gulfstream. She is a stakes winner at Woodbine and may well have room for improvement, having run just four times in her career.
A Little Bit Sassy finished second to Sandiva in the Marshua's River two races back but failed to fire in the Suwannee River, ending up last.
Celestine got good around this time last year, running off three stakes wins in a row. After a fruitless try in the Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. IIT), she ran Tammy the Torpedo to a neck in the Tropical Park Oaks and then finished third in the Sand Springs after grabbing the lead in the stretch.
E B Ryder finished well back of Tammy the Torpedo in the Suwannee River and has been second in four non-graded stakes over the past year. She needs to step it up a notch or two here. Mississippi Delta won a pair of stakes at Woodbine earlier in her career but did not fare as well in a pair of graded efforts last year. She enters off an allowance score at Gulfstream.
Honey Fox S. (gr. IIT)
Gulfstream Park , Saturday, April 02, 2016, Race 12
- 1m
- Turf
- $300,000
- 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
- 5:35 PM (local)
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Wgt | Trainer | M/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1E B Ryder (FL) | Harry Hernandez | 119 | Martin D. Wolfson | 20/1 |
| 2 | 2Celestine (KY) | Junior Alvarado | 119 | William I. Mott | 8/1 |
| 3 | 3Mississippi Delta (KY) | Julien R. Leparoux | 119 | Mark E. Casse | 15/1 |
| 4 | 4Sandiva (IRE) | Javier Castellano | 123 | Todd A. Pletcher | 9/5 |
| 5 | 5Tammy the Torpedo (KY) | Joe Bravo | 123 | Chad C. Brown | 7/2 |
| 6 | 6Lady Lara (IRE) | Jose Lezcano | 123 | William I. Mott | 5/2 |
| 7 | 7A Little Bit Sassy (KY) | Luis Saez | 117 | Michael R. Matz | 12/1 |
| 8 | 8Elusive Collection (KY) | John R. Velazquez | 117 | Josie Carroll | 10/1 |