Honor Code back at two turns in Alysheba

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Shug McGaughey won the 2013 Kentucky Derby with Orb, and later that year, three races into Honor Code’s career, it seemed fair to wonder if McGaughey might make it two Derbies in a row.

Honor Code won a seven-furlong maiden race at Saratoga, finished second in the Nashua, and won the Remsen Stakes in his final start at 2, but things went amiss for him over the winter, and after one start at Gulfstream, Honor Code wound up not in the Derby but on the sidelines, out of action until last November.

He just now is starting to get into a regular racing rhythm, and after a flashy closing victory March 7 in the Gulfstream Park Handicap, in which he beat the excellent Private Zone, Honor Code makes his first two-turn start in more than a year when he faces nine rivals – with Protonico easily the strongest of them – in the Grade 2, $400,000 Alysheba Stakes on Friday at Churchill Downs.

Honor Code has three wins and a close second from his four starts around one turn, while at two turns he won the Remsen by a nose and finished a distant second in an allowance race. Yet McGaughey feels certain that Honor Code, a son of A.P. Indy, is meant to be a route horse.

“I think the farther, the better for him,” McGaughey said. “He just gives you the sense that once he gets in those longer races, gets to settle himself more, he’s going to be even better. I don’t think those sprinting-type races are what he really wants to do. Hopefully, this will work, and hopefully this is the next step toward our goal.”

That goal is the Stephen Foster Handicap here in June, the same spot trainer Todd Pletcher has picked out for Protonico if things go well Friday.

The Alysheba, at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, also includes the New Orleans Handicap winner, Call Me George, but the edition of that race he won was the weakest in recent history. Ride On Curlin hasn’t hit a high note since the Preakness Stakes nearly a year ago, while Neck N Neck, though decent, is fully exposed and doesn’t look up to taking on an in-form Honor Code or Protonico.

:: DRF Live: Get real-time updates and insights from DRF reporters and handicappers on Friday

Key contenders

Honor Code (Last 3 Beyers: 104-106-92)

* A deep closer in fast-paced, one-turn races, Honor Code should stick much closer to the front end in a slower-paced route.

“I think he wants a target, but if they go a half in 49, he’ll be laying pretty close,” said McGaughey.

FORMULATOR FACT: Blind betting McGaughey in graded stakes races over the last five years would have turned a good profit. McGaughey’s win record in such races during that span is 45 for 196, a 23 percent strike rate that has produced a robust $2.58 win ROI.

Protonico (Last 3 Beyers: 107-103-101)

* Pletcher still isn’t sure what led to Protonico being eased Feb. 7 in the Donn Handicap (“He got hot in the paddock, worked up, but we never could really find anything,” he said), but draw a line through that race and find a steadily improving 4-year-old who has a chance to reach the elite handicap ranks this year.

* Came on strong the second half of last year and was beaten a half-length in the Clark Handicap last fall. Came from well off the pace that day but led all the way in a flashy win April 11 in the Ben Ali at Keeneland. “My only concern is running him back a little quick off that race, but the other choice was just waiting for the Stephen Foster,” Pletcher said.