This Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita brings together a field of seven fillies led by Going Global, who imported from Ireland to the United States this winter after a win and who has since won three straight races at Santa Anita, all stakes, including the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes last month. Another recent stakes winner is Madone, who won the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes three weeks ago. Golden finished second in the Senorita but was disqualified to sixth for interference in the stretch.
Majestic Steps was fifth in the Senorita and placed fourth after being forced to steady with a half-mile to go. She won in her U.S. debut in January but is winless in four races since then. Quattroelle finished fifth in the Providencia but won the Blue Norther Stakes last December. Pizzazz just won the California Oaks Stakes on all-weather at Golden Gate and finished third behind Madone in the Surfer Girl Stakes last fall. Last but not least is Midnight Diva, who earned her first career win in her fifth career start last month and did so at the distance of the Honeymoon Stakes.
Going Global beat 13 horses in a handicap race last November in her native Ireland, although still a maiden, before taking three months off to acclimate to her new surroundings in the United States. Debuting in mid-February, Going Global won the Sweet Life Stakes, a sprint, earning a career-best 99 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure in the process. Stretching out to two-turns, Going Global won both the China Doll Stakes and Providencia Stakes, the latter effort tying the 99 figure earned two months earlier. Jockey Flavien Prat has been aboard for all three local starts to date and rides back in the Honeymoon Stakes so it appears Going Global will be tough to keep from winning her fifth race in a row.
Golden showed a lot of ability in January in only the second start of her career when rallying strongly from sixth to win going away. Following a poor fifth place effort in March, Golden lagged far back in the early stages of the Senorita Stakes last month and was full of run on the turn when going from 10th to 5th with an eighth of a mile to go. At that point the filly shifted out and found a seam, rallying to get second at the finish line one length from winner Madone. However, the stewards ruled she had interfered with another horse and so she was disqualified and placed sixth. With a jockey change to Umberto Rispoli and a career-best 87 ™ figure to improve upon from the Senorita, Golden has an upset chance in the Honeymoon Stakes.
Madone won the first three starts of her career in the summer and fall of last year. Two of those wins came in stakes races including the Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita. In the Surfer Girl Madone earned a strong 93 figure. After trying some of the top two year old fillies on turf and finishing eighth of 14 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November, Madone was given time off to mature. Returning to the races three weeks ago as if she had never been away for six months, Madone won the Senorita Stakes even after stumbling at the start to be away last of 10. In the Senorita Madone earned an 89 figure. Jockey Juan Hernandez, who is the second leading jockey (behind Flavien Prat) at the Santa Anita meeting, rode Madone for the first time in the Senorita. He rides again in the Honeymoon so we can expect another big effort, potentially good enough to win, particularly if the filly logically improves in her second start following the long layoff.
The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Majestic Steps (92), Midnight Diva (91), Pizzazz (89) and Quattroelle (93).
Win Contenders:
Going Global
Golden
Madone
Honeymoon Stakes – Grade 3
Race 7 at Santa Anita
Saturday, May 22 – Post Time 7 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth on Turf
Fillies, Three Years Old
Purse: $100,000
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