Salahudin takes Ellis Park Juvenile, Manuka Honey rolls in Ellis Park Debutante
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Heavy favorites Salahudin and Manuka Honey had no trouble taking care of business in a pair of 2-year-old stakes races Sunday at Ellis Park.
Salahudin won the $250,000 Ellis Park Juvenile by 4 1/2 lengths at odds of 6-5 and looked good doing it, but the filly Manuka Honey looked even better and ran faster than the colts capturing the $250,000 Ellis Park Debutante.
Stalking the pace and coming three wide with her move off turn, Manuka Honey ($2.90) had made the lead turning for home in the seven-furlong Debutante – and then she really turned it on. Manuka Honey widened through the length of the stretch and was seven lengths clear at the finish, stopping the timer in 1:23.15 racing over a fast track. Salahudin was timed in 1:23.34.
For the Win finished a distant second, Cardio Cat was a few lengths behind her in third, but the Debutante was all about Manuka Honey.
An easy debut winner in her first outing, Manuka Honey looks more like a mid-season 3-year-old than a summer 2-year-old, and as strong as she’s been in a pair of sprints, a two-turn trip might make her shine even brighter. Brian Lynch trains Manuka Honey -- a daughter of Upstart and Drop Dead Red, by Hold Me Back – for Lisa Lee, Jason Sciortino, William Lynch, and Brian Howe. Manuka Honey was bred in Kentucky by Terry Hamilton.
Salahudin ($4.68) also has heft and scope beyond his tender age, and he showed enough speed Sunday under Florent Geroux to sit just behind the pace set by Bearamour. Salahudin nudged to the front going around the turn and never was headed, and while the colt grinds more than sparkles, he proved much the best pulling away to an easy win.
Grand Yaupon finished a well-beaten second while nearly four lengths clear of third-place Bearamour.
Bob Baffert trains Salahudin, who’s also 2 for 2, for Zedan Racing. Bred by the Newstead Corp, Salahudin is by Uncle Mo out of Weekend Strike, by Smart Strike.
The colt has a bright future, but perhaps not as bright as the filly’s.
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