With much of the weekend's racing action taking place at Pimlico Race Course, a field of six 3-year-old fillies clash on the lawn on the opposite coast in Santa Anita Park's $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes (G3T) May 18.
The Phil D'Amato-trained Jungle Peace faces her biggest test yet in the 1 1/8-mile Honeymoon. Unbeaten in three starts since crossing the Atlantic, the front-running filly will try to carry her speed around two turns for the first time Saturday. The quick daughter of Bungle Inthejungle exits a gutsy gate-to-wire triumph in the 6 1/2-furlong Senorita Stakes (G3T) over Santa Anita's downhill turf course April 27.
Breaking from the one hole with regular rider Umberto Rispoli aboard, the race is shaping up to become a classic game of 'catch me if you can.' The questions being: can Jungle Peace stay the 1 1/8 miles, and if she can, who can catch her?
Schilflied has twice finished just behind Jungle Peace, including in last month's Senorita when the Mendelssohn filly checked in fifth. One of two runners for trainer Patrick Gallagher, she's twice placed at a mile, including a runner-up finish in last year's Blue Norther Stakes.
Gallagher's other entrant, Firenze Flavor, makes her stakes debut in the Honeymoon off a April 25 one-mile allowance optional claiming score in which she recorded the highest Equibase Speed Figure in the field (102).
Augustin Stables' As Catch Can, runner-up in the Sweet Life Stakes at Santa Anita Feb. 9, returns to California after running second to Kentucky Oaks (G1) third Bless the Broken in the Bourbonette Oaks at 1 1/16 miles on the Turfway Park synthetic track.
