Band of Gold will be much shorter price in Honeybee

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Band of Gold will face formidable new rivals West Omaha and Alys Beach on Saturday, when she attempts to win her second straight Kentucky Oaks points race in the Grade 3, $400,000 Honeybee at Oaklawn Park.

The fillies are part of a field of 10, with the first five finishers from the 1 1/16-mile race to earn points on a scale of 50-25-15-10-5. The Honeybee is being run on a 12-race card anchored by the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel.

Band of Gold struck first on the local points scene, when she shuttled to a 2 3/4-length win in the $250,000 Martha Washington on Feb. 3. She was 24-1. Band of Gold earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 86, which is the best last-race number in the Honeybee.

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“I would love to see a repeat of that performance,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It was a pleasant surprise. Obviously, she was a long price.

“The race set up well for her. She learned her lesson coming from off the pace. She’s deserving to go on. So let’s see.”

West Omaha won the Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds in her most recent start Jan. 20. She rallied from off the pace for a five-length win, earning a Beyer of 84.

“I think she showed last time she can handle two turns,” trainer Brad Cox said.

“She’s been running really good numbers, and I think she really stacks up in this 3-year-old filly division very well. We’ll see how things go, but her works are very steady in the morning and we’re looking forward to giving her a chance at the graded stakes level.”

Alys Beach was Grade 1-placed last out when second in the Alcibiades on Oct. 6 at Keeneland. She was subsequently entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, but spiked a little temperature and was scratched, according to trainer Tom Amoss.

“There was really nothing for her after that race and we were planning on a campaign at 3, so we just gave her the time off,” Amoss said.

“Her owner, Greg Tramontin, and I were plotting a course for her, and we felt like this race here put us in a good position to either continue on at Oaklawn or come back for the Fair Grounds Oaks on March 23. So, we liked the timing of the race.”

Alys Beach set the pace in the Alcibiades in a departure of the tactics she used two starts earlier when she won her maiden from off the pace, defeating eventual Grade 2 Demoiselle winner Life Talk.

“At 2, she was a horse that had a lot of raw talent, but wasn’t very learned,” Amoss said. “In the Alcibiades, she made the lead and we would have preferred to have come from a little off the pace as she did when she broke her maiden at Saratoga.

“That’s what we like about her, she’s very versatile. I think when we see her run Saturday, we should look for a horse that does her lessons correctly, is rating and kind, and finishes up at the end.”

Julien Leparoux has the mount from the rail.

Midshipman’s Dance makes the move to two turns after winning both her career starts, including the Mockingbird Stakes at Oaklawn. Tapit Jenallie is another stakes winner in the field, while Neom Beach has been knocking on the door in stakes. In Just My Heels gets a shot at stakes rivals years after her dam, High Heels, won the Grade 2 Fantasy at Oaklawn before running third in the Kentucky Oaks.

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