Stakes Advance - Rebel & Honeybee
Compiled by Robert Yates
Sandman lacks a signature victory on his six-race resume. He’ll have another opportunity to change that Sunday at Oaklawn in the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.
The Rebel highlights a 12-race card that was originally scheduled to be run Saturday before an arctic blast earlier this week drove temperatures in Hot Springs well below freezing and led Oaklawn to adjust its racing calendar. Saturday’s Rebel Day card was moved to Sunday and Sunday’s card was moved to Monday. Friday’s racecard, first moved to Saturday, was canceled.
Sunday racing begins at noon (Central), with probable post time for the Rebel, the 11th race, 5:23 p.m.
The Rebel shares the card with four other stakes races – $500,000 Honeybee (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles, $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles, $150,000 Carousel for older fillies and mares at 6 furlongs and the $145,000 Trivista Overnight for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles.
The Rebel is Oaklawn’s third of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races and will offer 105 total points (50-25-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five finishers toward starting eligibility for the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The 14 Rebel entrants from the rail out: Coal Battle, Juan Vargas to ride, 122 pounds, 10-1 on the morning line; Admiral Dennis, Florent Geroux, 117, 12-1; Sandman, Cristian Torres, 119, 4-1; Hypnus, Brian Hernandez Jr., 117, 10-1; Madaket Road, Irad Ortiz Jr., 117, 9-2; Publisher, Flavien Prat, 117, 20-1; Dreaminblue, Francisco Arrieta, 117, 15-1; Innovator, Tyler Bacon, 117, 15-1; Smoken Wicked, Tyler Gaffalione, 117, 8-1; Bullard, Umberto Rispoli, 117, 5-1; Speed King, Rafael Bejarano, 122, 6-1; Brereton’s Baytown, Joseph Bealmear, 117, 50-1; Tiztastic, Jose Ortiz, 119, 8-1; and Hot Gunner, Harry Hernandez, 117, 50-1.
California-based Bullard, a Grade 3 winner, will be scratched because of a temperature, according to a social media post Friday morning from West Point Thoroughbreds, which co-owns the Gun Runner colt.
The Rebel will be Sandman’s fourth chance for a stakes breakthrough. Based on ascending finishes and speed figures, he’s poised to take that step.
Sandman ran fifth, beaten 10 lengths, in the one-mile $300,000 Iroquois (G3) Sept. 14 at Churchill Downs; third, beaten 5 ¼ lengths, in the 8 ½-furlong $200,000 Street Sense (G3) Oct. 27 at Churchill Downs; and second, beaten a length, in the $1 million Southwest (G3) Jan. 25 at Oaklawn. Sandman’s Beyer Speed Figures in those races climbed from 73 to 79 to a career-high 92.
Mark Casse, Sandman’s dual Hall of Fame trainer, said he’s not surprised Sandman is the program favorite for the Rebel after how the pricey gray son of Tapit (a $1.2 million 2-year-old purchase) performed in the Southwest.
Sandman broke in a tangle and spotted the field several lengths at the start, raced four-wide on the first turn and five-wide on the second turn. Trailing by approximately 10 lengths with 3 furlongs remaining, Sandman began to accelerate past horses and whittled Speed King’s eventual winning margin to one length at the wire.
“I think that he opened a lot of people’s eyes last time,” Casse said. “I haven’t seen the (Ragozin) numbers, but looking at the Thoro-Graph numbers, he’s headed in the right direction. On Thoro-Graph, he looks very tough.”
Sandman retains Torres, Oaklawn’s two-time reigning Oaklawn riding champion, for the Rebel. Torres has ridden Sandman in his last two starts, including an allowance victory at one mile Dec. 13 at Oaklawn. Casse said there are several speed horses entered, particularly outside, which should benefit Sandman’s closing style.
“There are a lot of horses that are fast and a few that have never been two turns,” Casse said. “So, the pace should be hot. I still think we’ll have a forward position. I wouldn’t want to get too far out of it if we don’t have to. Then we’ll need some luck. It’s always nice to be inside and saving ground, but you’ve got to have somewhere to go when you’re trying to make your run. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
Other top contenders include Coal Battle for trainer Lonnie Briley and Speed King for trainer Ron Moquett of Hot Springs.
Coal Battle is unbeaten in four career dirt starts, including the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 4 in his last start. The 1 1/16-mile Smarty Jones was Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Derby qualifying race. Speed King was a wire-to-wire winner of the Southwest, which was Oaklawn’s second Kentucky Derby qualifying race.
Speed King completed major preparations for the Rebel with a half-mile work in company Feb. 14. Moquett said the breeze was scripted to try and teach Speed King to rate.
“We worked him behind another horse,” Moquett said. “Let him eat dirt.”
Other Southwest returnees are third-place finisher Tiztastic and Publisher, a five-race maiden. Both Steve Asmussen trainees received trouble lines in the Southwest. Tiztastic, a stakes winner on grass, was in traffic on both turns, while Publisher lost all chance after he was “jammed into the rail” in midstretch by a tiring American Promise, according to footnotes from the official race chart. Publisher crossed the finish line seventh, but he was placed sixth after American Promise was disqualified following a stewards’ inquiry. Publisher was beaten 7 ¾ lengths.
“I think Publisher deserves another chance,” Asmussen said. “It’s impossible to know exactly where he’d finish if not completely eliminated by (American Chance) in the Southwest. Tiztastic is a fairly accomplished individual that is physically going the right way, that, obviously, I think, the farther the races go, the better he’ll be.”
The absence of Bullard, who won the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes (G3) at 7 furlongs Nov. 17 at Del Mar, means California’s hopes ride on lightly raced Madaket Road.
Madaket Road, who ran second in the Bob Hope in his career debut, is trying to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his record-extending ninth Rebel victory. Madaket Road (1 for 3) will be making his first start outside California and exits a third-place finish behind stablemates Citizen Bull and Rodriguez in the one-mile $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) Feb. 1 at Santa Anita. Citizen Bull was the country’s champion 2-year-old male.
“He ran a decent race his last race,” Baffert said of Madaket Road. “I was going to bring a different horse there (Oaklawn), but I thought I would just give him a chance there. He’s been doing well, but he’s going to have to step it up. He’s training well.”
The speedy Innovator, in his two-turn debut, nearly wired the field in the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Innovator, a Dec. 29 Oaklawn maiden special weight graduate, finished third, beaten three-quarters of a length.
Trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2024 Rebel with Timberlake, is represented by Admiral Dennis.
Admiral Dennis returns to stakes company after a three-quarter length allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 20 at Fair Grounds. Authentic Gallop, the third-place finisher, returned to win a Feb. 7 allowance race at Oaklawn.
Admiral Dennis’ only stakes try resulted in a fourth-place finish in the $100,000 Gun Runner at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds.
“Obviously, he needs to step up,” Cox said. “I think there’s going to be plenty of pace. He’s a decent horse. His last two runs, they’ve been paceless races. The Gun Runner was a paceless race, short field. Same thing in the allowance race. Just kind of had to make an early move in the allowance race. Wide around the turn. Ran OK. We need him to move forward. His work this past weekend was really good. We’ll see how it goes.”
Louisiana-bred star Smoken Wicked will be making his two-turn debut after three consecutive victories for trainer Dallas Stewart.
Oaklawn’s Kentucky Derby qualifying series concludes with the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles March 29.
$500,000 HONEYBEE (G3)
A field of 13, headed by Shadwell Stable’s unbeaten Muhimma, is entered in the Honeybee, Oaklawn’s second of three Kentucky Oaks qualifying races.
The Honeybee will offer 105 total points (50-25-15-10-5, respectively) to the top five finishers toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies.
Muhimma (3 for 3) will be making her 2025 debut in the Honeybee, which saw its 2020 and 2022 winners, Shedaresthedevil and Secret Oath, respectively, also capture the Kentucky Oaks.
Muhimma has already collected 10 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points for a front-running one-length victory in her last start, the nine-furlong $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) Dec. 7 at Aqueduct.
Muhimma, the 7-5 program favorite, won her first two starts, both sprints at Churchill Downs, by a combined 13 lengths. She drew the rail for her comeback assignment.
“Super talent,” said Brad Cox, who also trained Shedaresthedevil. “Been good from Day 1. We’ll see where she takes us, but she’s obviously shown the ability to win from the 1 hole already, in a large field at Aqueduct.”
Muhimma has been based this winter at Payson Park in south Florida, where she has six published workouts since Jan. 11 in advance of the Honeybee.
“She’s certainly trained well over the winter,” Cox said. “Excited about getting her started.”
The Honeybee returns the first two finishers from the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 25 at Oaklawn in Take Charge Milady (9-2) and Quietside (8-1).
Take Charge Milady rolled home by 5 ¾ lengths to give trainer Kenny McPeek his third victory in Oaklawn’s last four Kentucky Oaks qualifying races. He also won the 2024 Martha Washington with Band of Gold and the 2024 Fantasy Stakes (G2) with eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.
Quietside was the 1-2 favorite in the Martha Washington, but she had a troubled trip from the rail under eight-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. Quietside switches to runaway Fair Grounds riding leader Jose Ortiz, who was aboard the daughter of Malibu Moon for a blistering 5-furlong bullet workout (:58.80) Feb. 16 in New Orleans. Quietside shipped to Fair Grounds because of harsh winter weather at Oaklawn, which has disrupted training in January and February.
Quietside is scheduled to break from post 12 in the Honeybee.
“Just freaking unlucky, that’s all it is,” trainer John Ortiz said. “It is what it is, where we drew. We’re just happy to have Jose come out and take the mount. He’s gotten to know the filly. Just looking for a favorable trip, finally. That’s all we need.”
Quietside is a homebred for Arkansas lumberman John Ed Anthony, whose 38 career Oaklawn stakes victories is one short of the late John Franks’ local record 39. Anthony has another Honeybee entrant in the distance-proven Jenkin, unraced since winning the one-mile $175,000 Year’s End Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Dec. 29 at Oaklawn. Jenkin, in her two-turn debut, broke her maiden at one mile Dec. 6 at Oaklawn.
Trainer Lindsay Schultz said Jenkin’s post-Year’s End training schedule has been impacted by numerous training days lost in January and February. Jenkin also had her final work for the Honeybee at Fair Grounds, covering a half-mile in :49 Dec. 15.
“Jenkin will be a little short for this race, but she’s a class filly,” Schultz said. “We’re looking forward to the spot.”
Quickick, an accomplished late runner for trainer Tom Amoss, will also be making her 3-year-old debut in the Honeybee. Quickick (12-1) hasn’t started since finishing third in the 1 1/16-miles $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.
Before the Breeders’ Cup, Quickick broke her maiden at seven furlongs Sept. 1 at Saratoga and finished second, beaten 1 ¼ lengths by eventual Eclipse Award winner Immersive, in the 8 ½-furlong $600,000 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 4 at Keeneland.
“I was actually caught off guard by how big the field was for the race,” Amoss said of the Honeybee “Quickick is going to have to be positioned well to run her best race, positioned well early. She’s not a front-end horse, but she just can’t spot the field much.”
The Honeybee also drew Look Forward (6-1) for the Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy. Look Forward exits a victory in the seven-furlong $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes Jan. 5 at Santa Anita. Five G, who is trained by George Weaver, was a nine-length winner of the one-mile $150,000 Cash Run Stakes Jan. 1 at Gulfstream Park in her last start. Five G is 4-1 in the program.
The Honeybee carries a record purse in 2025 after a $100,000 increase in the offseason.
