Honor A. P. may make next start in Los Alamitos Futurity

ARCADIA, Calif. – A few days before Honor A. P. won a maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita on Sunday, trainer John Shirreffs had a preview of the result when Mike Smith worked the high-class prospect.

“Mike popped him out of the gate, and when he went to pull him up he didn’t want to pull up,” Shirreffs said. “He wanted to go around again.”

Honor A. P. ran accordingly in Sunday’s race at a mile. Honor A. P. took the lead shortly after the start and led by a half-length for the first half-mile. Honor A. P. turned into the stretch with a one-length advantage and pulled clear to win by 5 1/4 lengths over Tizamagician.

Honor A.P. ran a mile in 1:37.94. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91.

Shirreffs said on Monday morning that Honor A. P. will not start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here on Nov. 1.

“That’s not the goal,” he said.

What remains unclear is whether Honor A. P. will start again this year, perhaps in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 7.

“The big decision is whether to go to Los Al,” Shirreffs said.

Owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stable, Honor A. P. was purchased for $850,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale in 2018. Regardless of whether he races again this year, Honor A. P. will be closely followed in early 2020 as the races get longer and increase in importance.

“He’s got a nice stride and gets over the ground easily,” Shirreffs said.