Honey Bee Stakes gets full, competitive lineup

The $75,000 Honey Bee, a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies at Monmouth Park on Saturday, proved quite popular with horsemen and drew a full field of 10, plus two also-eligibles. It is difficult to pin down the favorite in the wide-open lineup.

Trainer Jason Servis has three entrants, but all are not expected to start. The race also has drawn runners trained by Mark Casse, Graham Motion, Todd Pletcher, and Mike Stidham.

Servis has entered A Bit of Both, Golconda, and Corn Off the Cob. The Oceanport, N.J., area was expected to get more than a half inch of rain Thursday and then dry out over the next two days. A Bit of Both, who would be making her turf debut, is expected to start whether the race is held on turf or dirt.

The French import Golconda, transferred to Servis from the barn of Chad Brown by Michael Dubb and partners, should start as long as the race stays on grass. Corn Off the Cob, a $20,000 claim, is the least likely to run.

A Bit of Both, a private purchase by Dubb and partners after she won her debut at Gulfstream Park last September, is 4 for 5 in her career and won the seven-furlong Game Face Stakes at Gulfstream in her last start. She is fast, could challenge Eyeinthesky for the early lead, and is a top contender.

Servis said A Bit of Both was supposed to run at Belmont Park on the main track last Sunday, but she got sick and missed the race.

“I lost eight days with her,” Servis said. “The fact that this is 5 1/2 and I got a breeze in, I don’t have to do a lot with her, so we’re going to try it.”

Servis said he is not sure how she will handle the grass.

“I ended up here basically because of the distance,” he said. “It just so happens that it’s turf.”

Eyeinthesky, trained by Casse, posted a mild upset in the Mizdirection Stakes at Aqueduct in April, going wire to wire in the six-furlong turf race. She didn’t show her customary early speed last time out in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly Stakes at Belmont after making contact with a rival at the start, but should bounce back Saturday.

Golconda and Queen of Bermuda finished fourth and sixth in the Mizdirection. Golconda was 5-2 in that race, and Queen of Bermuda, trained by Motion, was the even-money favorite.

Missmizz, who races for Stidham, has stalking speed. She weakened in the stretch of the Soaring Softly and finished fifth, beaten 3 1/2 lengths. This is an easier spot.

Pletcher will shorten up Orra Moor in distance following three stakes tries at as mile or longer and will add blinkers to her equipment. She should be doing her best running late.

Orra Moor will be ridden by Paco Lopez, who returns Saturday after serving a 30-day suspension for careless riding at Gulfstream.