Sam Houston: Ladies Classic lures Unusual Way from California

Unusual Way, who dominated the inaugural $300,000 Zia Park Oaks, is one of eight fillies and mares set to start in the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic at Sam Houston Race Park. Entries for Saturday night’s race were taken Tuesday.

The Houston Ladies Classic will anchor a card of four stakes that includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup. Together, the races are worth $725,000, making the program the richest in Texas for Thoroughbreds.

Unusual Way was a six-length winner of the Zia Park Oaks in her most recent start Nov. 27. Edwin Maldonado, who was aboard for the win, has the mount from post 2 in the Houston Ladies Classic, which will be run at 1 1/16 miles. The race will be a homecoming of sorts for Maldonado, who as an apprentice rode at Sam Houston.

Jeff Bonde trains Unusual Way, who worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds Saturday at Santa Anita in her final prep for the Houston Ladies Classic.

Others set to start include Awesome Flower, who is moving back to dirt, where she is a multiple stakes winner. The last time she ran on the main track, she was third in the Grade 2 Chilukki at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2. Rosie Napravnik has the mount from post 4 for trainer Mike Maker.

Class Included will be seeking her third straight win following stakes victories at Delta Downs and Fair Grounds. She drew post 6, and trainer Ron Faucheux has given the mount to Shaun Bridgmohan.

And Why Not, who is multiple Grade 1-placed, invades from Florida. She will break from post 3, under Luis Saez.

The complete field from the rail, with riders, is Rose to Gold, Jesus Rios; Unusual Way, Maldonado; And Why Not, Saez; Awesome Flower, Napravnik; Phonybooksnrecords, Deshawn Parker; Class Included, Bridgmohan; Do You Like Me Now, Fabio Arguello Jr.; and Moon Philly, Julien Leparoux.

The Houston Ladies Classic is scheduled as the ninth race on a 10-race program that starts at 7 p.m. Central. This is the second running of the race, which was won last year by Joyful Victory.

The Connally Cup, to be run at a 1 1/8 miles, drew a field of eight, including Admiral Kitten for trainer Mike Maker; Vertiformer for Christophe Clement; and Marine Patrol for Wayne Catalano.