Terra Promessa rolls through the mud to Honeybee victory

Sitting just off the early pace, Terra Promessa pounced in the final turn and put her foes away at the top of the stretch to pull away convincingly in a muddy rendition of Oaklawn's Grade 3, 1 1/16 mile Honeybee Stakes.

From her rail position, Cosmic Evolution won the break and immediately moved to the front to show the way. Race favorite Nickname took up the second running position, while Marquee Miss ended up hung 4 wide in the clubhouse turn and running third. Terra Promessa was sandwiched between those two in fourth with She's A Bootsy Too and Dorodansa trailing behind the top 4.

While Cosmic Evolution went on with on the lead, Terra Promessa dropped out from between foes to run a comfortable fourth. The running order remained the same down the backstretch as Cosmic Evolution posted splits of :23.33, :47.06 and 1:12.97 over the muddy main track.

In the far turn, Santana Jr. gave Terra Promessa her cue to go, and she responded by moving up into third on the outside of Cosmic Evolution and Nickname. Behind her, Marquee Miss spit the bit while She's A Bootsy Too and Dorodansa commenced their rallies.

At the top of the stretch, Terra Promessa put away Cosmic Evolution and Nickname, who inexplicably shifted to the outside after being passed. Under right-handed urging, Terra Promessa drifted in and out a bit throughout the stretch run but was clearly the best, crossing under the wire the winner by 6 1/2-lengths in a final time of 1:47.14.

Nickname improved for second, and Cosmic Evolution was a clear third. Dorodansa rounded out the superfecta, and the order of finish was completed by She's A Bootsy Too and Marquee Miss.

Winning jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. had nothing but praise for his filly. “She’s a really nice filly. She always tries when she runs. I’m highly confident with this filly when she runs. She relaxed nicely and when I asked her to run, she did. I can’t say enough great things about her,” he enthused.

Off 3-1 odds, Terra Promessa returned $8.00/$3.60/$3.00 for the win. Nickname (4-5) paid $2.60/$2.40 for the place, and 9-1 Cosmic Evolution paid $3.60 for the show. The $2 exacta returned $14.60, the $1 trifecta paid $48.20 and the $0.10 superfecta was worth $14.91.

The top 4 runners also earned points towards the starting gate of the Kentucky Oaks on a 50-20-10-5 basis.

Corey Nakatani, who was aboard runner-up Nickname, stated post-race, “We were pretty much where we wanted to be. She’s a real long, rangy filly and with it being an off track, it was hard for her. I was in a great spot. The other filly was just a little better than her today. But, my filly seems to be getting better with each race.”

Trainer Lon Wiggins, who oversees the conditioning of third place finisher Cosmic Evolution expressed pride in how his filly performed. “She ran well, just a little short and didn’t relax too good,” he lamented. He went on to add, “I think she’ll do better next time. I’m not sure she can run with those horses, but think she’ll do better. We are proud of her today.”

By Curlin and out of the Yes It's True mare Missile Bay, Terra Promessa is a homebred for renowned Stonestreet Stables. The Honeybee was her stakes debut, a test she passed with flying colors. That improved her career résumé to 4: 3-0-1 for purse earnings of $200,600.

Steven Asmussen, who saddled the winner, believed his filly had a tactical advantage. “The way the races have been playing the last few days, I think her natural style played very favorably for today,” he stated.

Being stabled and working at Oaklawn did not hurt either, according to Asmussen.“I think Terra Promessa has benefited from being here,” he explained. “Horses that excel here - she's found new life. She's come along awfully nicely. Her being a Curlin filly makes it very special for myself. Having Curlin have another graded stakes winner is very exciting.”

The next dance on Terra Promessa's card will likely be Oaklawn Park's $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) on April 9.