Bob Baffert expected a strong performance from Explora in the Honeybee Stakes if, the trainer said earlier this week, the 3-year-old filly could clip along at a reasonable pace rather than the intemperate one that doomed her chances in the Las Virgenes last month. Done, and done. Under a perfect trip pressing moderate fractions under new jockey Flavien Prat, Explora dug in late and held clear a sustained bid from Counting Stars to win the Grade 3, $750,000 Honeybee on Sunday at Oaklawn Park. Explora got home by three-quarters of a length, running herself into the Kentucky Oaks while continuing to run up the Southern California-based Baffert’s remarkable Oaklawn training record. After the Honeybee Baffert, from 63 graded-stakes starters at Oaklawn, has gone 27-12-8, a strike rate of 42 percent. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The Honeybee is part of Churchill Downs’ Road to the Kentucky Oaks, the series of races that determines the 14 Oaks starters, and the 50 points Explora earned Sunday boosted her total to 95, far more than sufficient to make the May 1 Oaks. Counting Stars rebounded massively from a dismal showing last month as the favorite in the Martha Washington Stakes, where she backed up at the half-mile pole and was all but eased. In the Honeybee, she rallied wide around the far turn from seventh to take aim on Explora at the three-sixteenths marker, but could not push past, going down to defeat in a good effort. Counting Stars earned 25 points, raising her total to 30, after finishing two lengths ahead of Sneaky Good, who went evenly through a ground-saving, stalking trip and checked in third, earning 15 Oaks points for a total of 21. Three-quarters of a length behind Sneaky Good came the Martha Washington winner Search Party, trained like Counting Stars by Mark Casse, who said he considered passing on Sunday’s race and awaiting the Fantasy next month at Oaklawn. Search Party got the jump on Counting Stars, but could not come close to kicking home with her while earning 10 Oaks qualifying points, giving her 30. Rounding out the Oaks points-scorers was fifth-place Knickleandime, who set splits of 23.45 and 47.70 before fading in the final quarter-mile, earning five Oaks points. Taken By the Wind, the 5-1 third choice, was the race’s major disappointment, pulling too hard in the early stages while wide, and checking in eighth of nine runners. Explora paid $4 as the heavy favorite and ran 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.52. Prat piloted seventh-time starter Explora for the first time and delivered a textbook ride, getting Explora out of post position 9 in good order and easing her into a great spot sitting second, just outside and behind Knickleandime. Explora, a willing partner to Prat, rated kindly enough and responded quickly when asked to attack the pacesetter. Taking over the lead at the quarter pole, Explora had 1 1/2 lengths on Counting Stars at the furlong grounds, and while Counting Stars narrowed the gap, she was not gaining at the wire as Explora galloped out well in front of the runner-up. Baffert trains Explora for his longtime clients Pegram & Watson & Weitman, and Explora, a $350,000 2-year-old in training purchase, ran her record to 7-4-3-0. By Blame out of Collections Choice, by Bernardini, Explora couples a true router’s pedigree with raw talent that made her one of the top 2-year-old fillies of 2025. Baffert had no doubt she’d stay the Honeybee’s distance with the right trip, and as has so remarkably often been the case at Oaklawn, he hit the mark. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.