Honey I'm Good outlasts Bayerness in Regret Stakes

Speed was good Saturday at wet Monmouth Park and that was good news for Honey I’m Good, who skipped to the front and never looked back, holding off 2-5 favorite Bayerness to win the $75,000 Regret Stakes by a diminishing neck.

Gerardo Corrales rode the winner for Almost Heaven Stables and trainer Steve Asmussen, whose Monmouth string has been slow to get on track this season.

Honey I’m Good had started May 30 in the off-turf Politely Stakes and was badly beaten, but she can be a tough mare on a clear lead, and that’s the horse that showed up Saturday. Honey I’m Good broke through the gate before the start but maintained her composure, setting splits of 22.29 and 44.94 while solo on the lead. Bayerness, stalking the pace on the outside, tried to get involved at the quarter pole, but really found her best stride only in the final furlong. She made a strong late run at the winner but the wire came before Bayerness could get on terms, and Honey I’m Good was home for her sixth win from 13 starts.

“I don’t think she cared for the track in her last start, and she needed to settle in here a little bit to train,” said Mitch Dennison, Asmussen’s local assistant. “She has been working well here, calm and quiet, and that’s important with her because she can be a nervous filly.”

Honey I’m Good ran six furlongs in 1:09.28 and paid $14.40 to win. Bronx Beauty finished a distant third in a field reduced to six when Alandra was scratched.

Bred in Florida by Ann Fostock, Honey I’m Good is by Shackleford out of American Queen, by Quiet American.

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