New Money Honey stuck outside in Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

LEXINGTON, Ky. – New Money Honey has been assigned the outside post as the likely favorite in a terrific field of 11 3-year-old turf fillies entered for the highlight of the second week of the Keeneland fall meet, the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Saturday.

New Money Honey, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall and the Belmont Oaks in July, will be ridden by Javier Castellano and breaks just outside of her Chad Brown-trained stablemate Uni (post 10, Irad Ortiz Jr.) in the 1 1/8-mile QE II.

There is no shortage of threats to New Money Honey, including Proctor’s Ledge (post 2, Corey Lanerie), a winner of back-to-back turf stakes at Saratoga this summer, the Grade 3 Lake George and Grade 2 Lake Placid.

“She is only going to get better as she goes,” Brendan Walsh, the trainer of Proctor’s Ledge, told Keeneland publicity this week. “We freshened her up after Saratoga to focus on here. I am very happy with her, and now it is just a matter of getting her to the big day. It is going to be a big test for her.”

The $500,000 QE II goes as the ninth of 10 Saturday races, with first post set for 1:05 p.m. Eastern and the feature for 5:30.

From the hedge, this is the field for the 34th QE II, the sixth and last Grade 1 of the 17-day meet: Con Te Partiro, Proctor’s Ledge, Daddys Lil Darling, Dream Dancing, Unforgetable Filly, La Coronel, Wuheida, Madam Dancealot, Beau Recall, Uni, and New Money Honey.

With sunny skies and a high of 81 in the forecast, a crowd of 35,000 or so can be expected Saturday.