Promise Me Silver eyes Honeybee Stakes

Promise Me Silver, who remained undefeated in six starts with her win in last Saturday night’s Two Altazano division of the Texas Stallion Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park, has a handful of options for her next start, including the Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park, trainer Bret Calhoun said Tuesday.

Promise Me Silver opened her 3-year-old season with a stakes win at Oaklawn in the $100,000 Dixie Belle. The Grade 3, $150,000 Honeybee would mark her first two-turn start were she to run in the 1 1/16-mile race March 7. Calhoun said other options include the $100,000 Ceasar’s Wish, a one-mile race at Laurel on March 14, and the $200,000 Sunland Park Oaks on March 22.

“Her schedule is a little up in the air,” said Calhoun, who trains Promise Me Silver for her breeders, Robert and Myrna Luttrell. “There’s a possibility she could show up in the Honeybee.”

Calhoun said he would have liked for Promise Me Silver’s two-turn debut to come in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn, but when the Dixie Belle was run a week later than scheduled due to inclement weather, the spacing to the Marsha Washington did not work well for Promise Me Silver.

“We didn’t want to crowd her races, and that’s how we ended up in the Stallion Stakes,” Calhoun said.

Promise Me Silver was the 1-5 favorite in the $75,000 Two Altazano and won the seven-furlong race in hand. She cruised by 9 3/4 lengths while collecting her fifth straight stakes win. For the effort, she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 80.

Calhoun said Promise Me Silver shipped to the Evangeline Downs Training Center near Lafayette, La., on Sunday. He said a spring goal for Promise Me Silver is either the Grade 2 Beaumont at Keeneland or the Instant Racing at Oaklawn.

Calhoun’s other stakes winner Saturday night at Sam Houston was Supermason, who rolled by 14 lengths in the $75,000 Jim’s Orbit division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. For the win in the seven-furlong race, the 3-year-old owned by Brad Grady earned a 91 Beyer.

Calhoun said the next start for Supermason is to be determined, with one option at Oaklawn.

“He could possibly show up at Hot Springs in the Gazebo on the 21st of March,” Calhoun said. “The Stallion Stakes at Lone Star Park on May 9 is one of the main things on his agenda in the short term. We need to fill in the blanks a little, and the Gazebo might be the right spot.”

Calhoun said he does not want to step up Supermason into any 3-year-old classic preps since the horse is still developing mentally. He’s hopeful that the horse will be a candidate for some of the derbies in the summer and fall.

“I want to get his confidence built up, get him a little more consistent,” Calhoun said. “It’s not a talent issue. He’s just been inconsistent.”

Supermason is also based at the Evangeline Training Center.

◗ Sam Houston handled $2 million on its 10-race program from all sources Tuesday, the second-highest handle of the meet. The meet’s biggest day to date also came on a Tuesday, Feb. 3, when the track handled $2.1 million.

Officials said offtrack handle on Sam Houston’s races is up 8 percent at this meet, while handle ontrack is up 4 percent. The track is experiencing a 5 percent increase in field size over last season, averaging 8.2 starters a race. Sam Houston races in the afternoons on Tuesdays.