Gulfstream Park: Honor Code to make return in Wednesday allowance

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Honor Code will make his much-anticipated 3-year-old debut in a $75,000 allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on Wednesday at Gulfstream Park. Honor Code, who suffered his only setback in three starts in the Grade 1 Champagne, will face just four rivals, Social Inclusion, Specialnightaction, We’re All Set and Ta Bueno.

Honor Code has not started since outgaming Cairo Prince by a nose to capture the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct on Nov. 30. He was shipped to Payson Park shortly thereafter to prepare for his 3-year-old campaign but missed 10 days of training due to minor bruising in his back ankles. Trainer Shug McGaughey transferred Honor Code from Payson to Gulfstream once he was ready to resume training in late January. He’s had four workouts at Gulfstream since Feb. 12, including an impressive 59.18 five-furlong drill with regular rider Javier Castellano aboard last Sunday.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

McGaughey said Honor Code would blow out an easy half-mile here on Sunday.

“He’s had a bit of an eventful winter, but everything is going in the right direction at the moment,” said McGaughey. “He’s been training well and his work the other day was excellent. He’s ready to run and I believe he’ll give a good account of himself in this race.”

McGaughey had originally considered the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park on March 15 for Honor Code’s return. But he said Gulfstream racing secretary P.J. Campo approached him a couple of weeks ago, asking if he’d be willing to keep Honor Code locally if he were able to make an allowance race fill.

“I never asked for the race, they came to me,” said McGaughey. “P.J. said he thought he could make the race go and I told him if he did, I’d run Honor Code here. If this race hadn’t have gone, we’d have run him in the Rebel next Saturday. The biggest factor in the decision to stay and run at Gulfstream is that we don’t have to ship.”

McGaughey said if all goes well in his 3-year-old bow, Honor Code would likely have his second and final Kentucky Derby prep in the $1 million Wood at Aqueduct on April 5.