Honey Honey Honey finds an easier spot

MIAMI - Honey Honey Honey and Brother Joey have seen enough of Big City Man this season. So instead of trying to bang heads with the division leader one more time Saturday in the Affirmed division of the Florida Stallion Stakes, the pair will seek less competition and more distance in a field of eight 2-year-olds in the one-mile Seacliff Stakes.

The Seacliff and its filly counterpart, the Lindsay Frolic Stakes, highlight Saturday's Juvenile Showcase undercard at Calder along with the Catcharisingstar and Fasig Tipton Turf Dash. All four stakes offer purses of $55,000.

Honey Honey Honey pressed the pace before fading to finish 10th in the Dr. Fager Stakes. The performance was disappointing considering that Honey Honey Honey, a homebred son of Awesome of Course, had captured 2 of his 3 previous starts, including a five-furlong allowance dash in which he defeated Dr. Fager runner-up Wise Answer. Honey Honey Honey will race with blinkers for the first time in the Seacliff and figures to stand some catching from his inside post.

Brother Joey is the only stakes winner in the Seacliff lineup, having captured the 5 1/2-furlong B L's Sweep Stakes on June 16. But Brother Joey has tailed off badly since that outing, finishing far back in both the Criterium and Dr. Fager.

Im Not Sneaky finished third, two lengths behind Honey Honey Honey, going five furlongs on July 20. Im Not Sneaky had won his career debut less than two weeks earlier in impressive fashion.

Among the other key contenders in the Seacliff are Surrealdeal, back on just one week's rest off a seven-furlong maiden win, and Ed the Boxer, who finished in front of both Honey Honey Honey and Brother Joey when rallying from last to finish fifth in the Dr. Fager.

Lindsay Frolic: Half are maidens

The one-mile Lindsay Frolic came up a fairly weak spot, with four of the eight fillies in the starting lineup still maidens. Despite being winless in two starts, Tidal Dance may prove the one to beat coming off an improved second-place finish behind the promising Tiara Di Oro four weeks earlier. Tidal Dance should handle the added distance, being by Pleasant Tap out of a mare whose offspring include the six-time route winner Final Story.

Britten's Beauty, another maiden, also demands respect, having hit the board in her three starts. Being by Doneraile Court, she has a license to handle the stretch around two turns. Trainer Milt Wolfson will remove the blinkers from Britten's Beauty, who finished in front of Silk Ridge and Excessive Heat when second to division leader Yonagucci in the J J'sdream Stakes earlier in the session. Silk Ridge and Excessive Heat both came out of the J J'sdream to register a stakes victory in their next start.

Other top candidates in the Lindsay Frolic include Kitty on the Keys, Delayed Start, Magdalena's Chase, and Awesome Dreamer.

Catcharisingstar: 'Heat' odds-on

Excessive Heat figures to be an odds-on favorite to add the five-furlong Catcharisingstar to her previous victory in the restricted GTOBA Juvenile Turf Stakes.

Excessive Heat, a daughter of Bring the Heat, led throughout before drawing away to an easy 4 3/4-length triumph while making her grass debut in the Juvenile Turf, notching her third victory in five career starts. She has since been sold privately and will race Saturday for her new owner-trainer Larry Rivelli.

Full Exchange and Her Greatness may have the best chances of springing an upset should Bring the Heat not run back to her previous effort.

Turf Dash: Well-matched contest

Unlike the Catcharisingstar, the five-furlong Fasig-Tipton Turf Dash is a wide-open affair. Ultimate Authority, the lone two-time winner in the lineup, may be a slight favorite over Santuri, Babosa, Ivannarun, and L Ballou.

Ultimate Authority rallied to win a first-level allowance race in his last start and is bred for the turf, being a full brother to multiple grass winner College Honor.

Santuri drops to more suitable company after finishing ninth in the Dr. Fager. An easy maiden winner, Santuri is out of the mare Naturally Wild, who was a five-time turf winner during her racing career.

Babosa returns home following a fourth-place finish after contesting the pace in Monmouth Park's Continental Mile, a race switched from the turf to a fast main track.