Oscar Performance, New Money Honey mull fall campaigns

ELMONT, N.Y. - Oscar Performance and New Money Honey were the best of their age group on the turf at 2. Now, midway through their 3-year-old seasons, neither wants to relinquish the mantle.

On Saturday, Oscar Performance and New Money Honey were victorious in the two richest races for 3-year-old turf horses in the U.S., with Oscar Performance winning the Grade 1, $1.2 million Belmont Derby Invitational by two lengths while New Money Honey won the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Oaks by a neck.

Those wins came a month after both won the local prep race for the Derby and Oaks.

Last year, Oscar Performance and New Money Honey won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, respectively, at Santa Anita. While New Money Honey became the third Juvenile Fillies Turf winner to also take the Belmont Oaks, Oscar Performance is the first Juvenile Turf winner to take the Derby.

Brian Lynch, the trainer of Oscar Performance, said trainer Chad Brown “threw down the gauntlet” when New Money Honey won “so I thought we’re going to have to produce our magic and show them we could do it, too. Good for the Breeders’ Cup. There seemed to be a little bit of a curse for the 2-year-old boys. A lot of them haven’t come back and done that well.”

Oscar Performance lost his first two starts of the year before winning his next two.

Both Oscar Performance and New Money Honey came out of their victories in good order and now their connections must sit down and devise a plan for the late summer and fall.

Lynch said he would like to get Oscar Performance back to the Breeders’ Cup later this fall, with the Mile perhaps a more likely target than the Turf at 1 1/2 miles. How best to get to that race is to be determined.

The $400,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 12 is appealing for its Grade 1 status, but Lynch wonders if running another 1 1/4-mile race is the best way to prepare for the BC Mile. Another option for Oscar Performance could be the Grade 2, $250,000 Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 3. The added benefit of running there would be the fact the Breeders’ Cup is being held at Del Mar in November.

Lynch said owners John and Jerry Amerman “are going on vacation and when John gets back we’ll have a talk, we’ll come up with a plan,” Lynch said. “Ultimately, the goal would be to get back to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Oscar Performance benefitted from being able to set relatively soft fractions with hardly any early pace pressure. He ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.25 and was assigned a Beyer Speed Figure of 96.

European runners Called To The Bar and Homesman, who finished second and third behind Oscar Performance, were expected to return to France and Ireland, respectively, this week.

New Money Honey, who won the Wonder Again in front-running fashion, reverted to her off-the-pace tactics in winning the Belmont Oaks and leading a sweep of the top three placings in the race for Brown, who also sent out runner-up Sistercharlie and third-place finisher Uni.

“New Money Honey showed that that Keeneland race was just a bad day for her on a track she didn’t care for,” said Brown, referring to the filly’s sixth-place finish in the Appalachian Stakes in April. “Outside of that, the filly’s been really consistent. I’m proud of her; she dug in and earned the win.”

New Money Honey ran 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.89 but received a lower Beyer of 88, in part because the early pace of the Oaks was dramatically faster than the Derby. The six-furlong Oaks split was 1:11.38, three seconds faster than that fractional time of the Derby.

The big fall objective for 3-year-old turf fillies is the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth at Keeneland. It remains to be seen if New Money Honey points to that, given her previous bad race at Keeneland.

One potential next spot for New Money Honey is the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 19.

Sistercharlie and Uni were both making their first starts for Brown and first in the U.S. Sistercharlie had the outside post in the 11-horse field and was running back three weeks after running second in the Group 1 Prix de Diane.

“I thought having to overcome all that and nearly win she showed her class and ability,” Brown said.

Sistercharlie will not race during the summer, Brown said, and will be aimed at a fall campaign.

Uni, making her first start since winning a stakes in France in May, was off slowly and rallied to be third, beaten two lengths. Brown said of his three Belmont Oaks horses, she is the most likely to run in the Grade 2, $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 19.

Fifty Five, whom Brown scratched from the Belmont Oaks, is being pointed to the Grade 3, $150,000 Lake George Stakes on July 21. On Sunday, she worked five furlongs in 1:01.85 over Belmont inner turf course.