Beautician's class may offset her idleness

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - After running in nothing but Grade 1 stakes since last summer, Beautician will take a meaningful class drop Saturday when she starts her season in the Grade 3, $125,000 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

The Honeybee, for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, serves as the final local prep for the Grade 2, $300,000 Fantasy here April 2. It will share a card Saturday with the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel.

Beautician was the runner-up to champion She Be Wild in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She comes to Oaklawn from Gulfstream Park, where she has been prepping for what will be her first start since late December.

"She's not a filly that needed a lot of works," said Ken McPeek, who trains Beautician. "We decided to get a race under her belt. I think this is a race she can win just on class."

Beautician established herself as one of the nation's top 2-year-old fillies last year, when she finished second in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga on Sept. 6. From there, she was fifth in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 9, second in the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 6, and seventh as the favorite in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet at Hollywood Park. For that race, Beautician added blinkers. They will be removed for the Honeybee.

"I don't know if we have a clear excuse on that race," McPeek said of the Starlet. "I'll take the bullet on that one. We really thought we could win the Starlet.

"She just had a bad day, whether it was the blinkers, whether it was one race over the top, or she was sick. We're not exactly sure what that was about. She's a whole lot better than that."

Beautician, who is looking for her first two-turn win, will break from post 5 in a nine-horse field Saturday.

"She's a filly that can lay off of it and kick on," said McPeek.

Robby Albarado has the mount on Beautician, whom he last rode in the Breeders' Cup.

Decelerator leads the local contingent off her win in the $75,000 Martha Washington at Oaklawn on Feb. 13. She defeated a number of her Honeybee rivals and earned a Beyer Figure of 82.

"She's in top form," said D. Wayne Lukas, who trains Decelerator.

Corey Nakatani has the mount from post 2.