Undefeated Hot Rod Honey hopes to take next step in Scandalous Act
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After defeating open company in impressive fashion in the Sharp Susan Stakes in her previous start, it seems only the added distance or a disastrous trip can keep Hot Rod Honey from remaining undefeated when taking on 2-year-old Florida-bred fillies Saturday at Gulfstream Park in the $100,000 Scandalous Act Stakes.
The six-furlong Scandalous Act was originally scheduled to share top billing on the 10-race program with its male counterpart, the $100,000 In Summation Stakes, which unfortunately failed to fill.
Trained by Carlos David, Hot Rod Honey proved a popular 1 1/4-length winner when facing statebreds going five furlongs to launch her career June 5. She was even more impressive when returning four weeks later in the 5 1/2-furlong Sharp Susan, rallying from just off the early leaders once again to a 4 1/4-length triumph over Colombina, who will try the overwhelming favorite for a second time in the Scandalous Act.
“When you have these 2-year-old fillies, the goal is to stretch them out to see if they can get two turns eventually,” David said. “She’s stretching out a little bit after the Sharp Susan win, but the way she positions herself in the race, it kind of fits her.”
David said he had other options with Hot Rod Honey, including testing her against much tougher competition at Saratoga this summer.
“I felt we want to do the right thing and stay here against statebreds and kind of build her confidence,” David explained. “I think she has the talent, but it’s better to climb the steps. If she kind of takes us that way towards Keeneland in the fall, then that’ll be it. For now, we’re going to stay home and try to knock off these races.”
Colombina was an easy, gate-to-wire statebred maiden winner at first asking for trainer Antonio Sano before proving no match for Hot Rod Honey after setting the pace to midstretch in the Sharp Susan.
Liberty Rings was eligible for an automatic berth in one of the Royal Ascot 2-year-old races by virtue of her 1 1/4-length triumph in the May 9 Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes on turf. But her connections instead opted to take her to Churchill Downs, where she finished a distant seventh switching back to dirt in the six-furlong Debutante on June 28.
Liberty Rings is trained by Nicholas Palmer, son of her owners, David and Teresa Palmer.
“They don’t think she really handled that track well,” the younger Palmer noted. “So we just wanted to get her back to her home track where she’s comfortable and she’s run two pretty decent races and where we can start looking at the Florida-bred series, some softer spots, and this race was on our radar.”
Completing the field are Boots, who finished fourth in the Sharp Susan following an easy debut win; Mon Coquette, a wire-to-wire maiden winner in her only previous start; and Jost a Chance Yadi, the lone maiden in the lineup.
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