Callaghan pair of Maxim Rate and Hostess figure to fight it out in Honeymoon

ARCADIA, Calif. – Expectations have increased and corresponding odds have dropped since Maxim Rate and Hostess scored surprise victories for trainer Simon Callaghan early this season.

Maxim Rate returned $59.40 winning her career debut in February, Hostess paid $53 winning her U.S. debut in April. On Saturday at Santa Anita, the element of surprise is off the table. The Callaghan trainees figure as top choices in the Grade 3 Honeymoon Stakes.

The nine-furlong turf race for 3-year-old fillies drew eight runners. They include multiple stakes-placed late-runner Lady Prancealot, improving Over Emphasize, stretch-out Holly Hundy, recent arrival Seranitsa, front-runner Sold It, and supplemental entry Dr Wysong.

The $150,000 Honeymoon centers on the Callaghan duo trying to sweep Santa Anita’s graded stakes for turf fillies. Hostess upset Maxim Rate by a nose in the Grade 3 Providencia. Maxim Rate won the Grade 3 Senorita while Hostess finished a troubled fourth.

Maxim Rate’s versatility is one reason she enters the Honeymoon as likely favorite. “She’s one of those fillies that can be ridden however the race unfolds,” Callaghan said. “If they don’t go very fast, she can be close to the speed, and if they go quick, she can come from off of it. Kent [Desormeaux] can ride her as the race unfolds.”

Maxim Rate employed a closing style her first two starts. She won a maiden race at a mile, and finished second in the Providencia at a mile and one-eighth. Last out, in the Senorita at one mile, Maxim Rate pressed a walking pace and won by a half-length. Her win was more decisive than the margin. She had plenty left at the wire.

Hostess, a deep closer, is at the mercy of racing luck. The key, Callaghan said, is “just get her to relax early and make a run.” It worked when she upset the Providencia, but she was blocked between the quarter pole and eighth pole in the Senorita. She finished fourth.

Callaghan trained Maxim Rate from the beginning, while Hostess was sent from Europe. The owners of Hostess “really liked this filly, but felt maybe she just missed out on being very top class,” Callaghan said. “They felt she would really thrive on firm ground.”

Hostess, 2 for 5, benefits from the mile and one-eighth distance. Through Memorial Day on May 27, the last five turf races at the distance were won by closers from the back of the field. That is where Hostess will rally from.

The Honeymoon performances by Maxim Rate and Hostess will determine the direction of their campaigns. The Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Oaks on July 6 at Belmont Park is under consideration, according to Callaghan, while the top local races for turf fillies this summer at Del Mar are the Grade 2 San Clemente and Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.

Over Emphasize finished second last out in a first-level allowance at the Honeymoon distance, while Holly Hundy stretches out from back-to-back sprint wins. Sold It wired the California Oaks last time on synthetic. Lady Prancealot ran second in the Senorita.