Beckman shipping Simply Joking, Honor Marie to Oaklawn
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The road to Louisville runs through Hot Springs for the 3-year-old filly Simply Joking.
After missing an intended start on Feb. 15 in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds, Simply Joking wasn’t entered for the March 22 Fair Grounds Oaks and instead will run March 29 in the $750,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park.
Trainer Whit Beckman said on Sunday that he’ll ship Simply Joking along with the 4-year-old Honor Marie, who’s set to race for the first time since August in the restricted American Pharoah Stakes on the same card.
Beckman has Her Laugh for the Fair Grounds Oaks, where undefeated Good Cheer figures to be the odds-on favorite.
“Other than her [Good Cheer], those horses seem evenly matched,” said Beckman.
Beckman could have three runners among the 14-horse Kentucky Oaks field. Drexel Hill won the Busher Invitational at Aqueduct and has 58 qualifying points toward the Oaks. She’ll make the field, while Simply Joking has amassed 20 points and Her Laugh 10.
Among Beckman’s trio, Simply Joking, who could vie for favoritism at Oaklawn with Honeybee Stakes winner Quietside, appears the most talented. And while she hit a bump in the road missing the Rachel Alexandra, Beckman thinks Simply Joking will benefit from more time since her Jan. 18 win in the Silverbulletday and less time between her final prep and the Kentucky Oaks.
Simply Joking debuted in December, winning the Letellier Stakes over six furlongs before stretching out and going wire to wire in the Silverbulletday. Entered in the Rachel Alexandra, Simply Joking showed a lackluster appetite a few days before the race, which was out of character for her, and Beckman ordered a blood test that revealed a nascent illness. Simply Joking recovered quickly and got back on the work tab March 2, breezing again March 7 and March 14.
Beckman sees a better, stronger horse than he had for the Silverbulletday.
“She’s doing so good,” Beckman said. “Those extra five weeks – you’re bummed when they get sick, but her coat, the way she’s training, all the markers are just amazing. With a horse like this, I don’t worry about the extra time.”
It’s been a long time since Honor Marie saw racing action, and his 3-year-old campaign didn’t end well. Honor Marie won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in November of his 2-year-old season and finished second in the 2024 Louisiana Derby. After a tough-trip eighth in the Kentucky Derby, he bounced back to nab fourth in the Belmont Stakes but lost his form entirely in the Travers.
Beckman said a couple months ago that Honor Marie had returned to the track a far stronger colt than he’d been as an immature 3-year-old. The American Pharoah presents an ideal comeback spot, restricted to horses who haven’t won a stakes during 2024-25.
Finally, Beckman gave Flying Mohawk his final work at Fair Grounds before shipping him to Kentucky for the Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday at Turfway Park. Flying Mohawk took a few starts to come around but now has won two straight on turf – a maiden at Churchill and a good first-level allowance on Jan. 30 at Fair Grounds.
In his March 14 workout, Flying Mohawk went in company with Honor Marie and, according to Beckman, breezed heads up with the older horse until Honor Marie edged clear at the end of the gallop-out.
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