Sam Houston: Unusual Way makes money run in Ladies Classic

Horses from both coasts have descended upon Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday to be part of the richest Thoroughbred race in Texas, the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic. Unusual Way, who is in from Southern California, should go favored in an eight-horse field that includes Florida shippers Rose to Gold, And Why Not, and Awesome Flower.

The Houston Ladies Classic is the anchor race on a program of four stakes worth $725,000. The card includes the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup, which lured Hollywood Derby runner-up Admiral Kitten, and the $75,000 Champion Energy Services, which drew the comebacking Force Freeze. The stakes run from the sixth through ninth races, and form a pick four that features a reduced 12 percent takeout. The sequence ends with the Houston Ladies Classic.

Unusual Way will be facing older rivals for the first time off a six-length win in the $300,000 Zia Park Oaks on Nov. 27. She led throughout the Oaks and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 91, which is the best last-race number in the Houston Ladies Classic field.

“That was one of her best races, without question,” said Jeff Bonde, who trains Unusual Way, a multiple stakes winner, for Edward Brown Jr. and Philip Lebherz. “She dominated that group.

“I believe she’s best on dirt.”

Since the score, Unusual Way has been pointed for the Houston Ladies Classic, Bonde said.

“We think it’s a good opportunity,” he said. “It’s a large purse, and she’s run well when we’ve sent her out that way. She ships well.”

Unusual Way traveled from Southern California to Zia for the track’s inaugural Oaks, and also made her way east for last year’s Sunland Park Oaks, finishing second to Midnight Lucky.

For the Houston Ladies Classic, she will break from post 2 under jockey Edwin Maldonado.

“She has a lot of natural speed,” Bonde said of the filly, who could control the pace.

A late threat will be And Why Not, who cuts back in distance from the 1 1/4-mile Maple Leaf at Woodbine on Nov. 2. She finished sixth in that Grade 3 race. And Why Not will break from post 3, under Luis Saez.

“She usually breaks good, takes herself back, and makes her run,” said Michael Matz, who trains And Why Not for his mother-in-law, Helen Groves, whose family owns the famed King Ranch.

Class Included will be seeking her third straight win, and could get an ideal tracking trip under Shaun Bridgmohan.

The Houston Ladies Classic is to be broadcast on HRTV, TVG and FOX Sports Southwest.