BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida-bred Taken by the Wind takes her unblemished record to Oaklawn Park for Sunday’s $750,000 Honeybee Stakes (Grade 3) for 3-year-old fillies in search of points on the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) Leaderboard. The mile-and-one-sixteenth Honeybee has attracted a field of 10 with the 105 Kentucky Oaks points allocated to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.
Taken by the Wind currently sits among the top six in the Kentucky Oaks standings with 30 points. Last year, Quickick was the last to make the Kentucky Oaks field with 34 points but in 2024, Ways and Means needed 50 points and $108,000 in non-restricted stakes earnings to get a spot in the Oaks starting gate.
Taken by the Wind is three-for-three for trainer Ken McPeek having most recently won the $145,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds on January 17. With Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard, Taken by the Wind jetted to the front from post four then controlled the pace to win the mile-and-70-yard test by a neck earning 20 Kentucky Oaks points. She had earned 10 points with her five-and-three-quarter lengths score in the Grade 3 Pocahontas going a mile at Churchill Downs on September 13 after winning a seven-furlong maiden special weight in the slop at Saratoga Race Course in August.
Taken by the Wind has earned $270,710 for Magdalena Racing, NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, Graham Leveston and Raasi Stable. She is by Rock Your World out of Up for Grabs, by First Samurai and was bred in Florida by Courtney L. Meagher of Citra.
Meagher sold her for $70,000 to McPeek as an agent for Walking L Thoroughbreds at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale where she was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. Three months later, McPeek bought her as an agent for $20,000 out of the Gainesway consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.
Hernandez gets the return engagement and they are the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. Taken by the Wind will start from the outside post 10.
Bob Baffert sends 7-5 morning line favorite Explora to Oaklawn for the Honeybee from his base in Southern California.
Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Explora currently sits third in the Kentucky Oaks standings with 45 points. She earned 10 points in each of her last two starts at Santa Anita, a second to Meaning in the $98,000 Las Virgenes (Listed) going a mile on February 8; and with a five-and-a-quarter lengths score in the $98,000 Santa Ynez (Listed) at seven furlongs on January 10. She earned 15 points with her second-place finish to Super Corredora in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar on October 31.
Explora is by Blame out of Collections Choice, by Bernardini and has won half of her six career starts with three seconds. She is the wealthiest among the Honeybee entrants with $648,000 in lifetime revenues.
Flavien Prat will guide Explora from post nine.
To the inside of the two favorites are Take Charge Macy with Ramon Vazquez named to ride, Sneaky Good will have Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons, Grace is Free with jockey Kelsi Harr, Abel Cedillo will have the reins on Newton Pike, Knickleandime will have Rafael Bejarano up, Cristian Torres has the call on Search Party, Counting Stars will be ridden by Francisco Arrieta, and Classic Glide will have Jaime Torres in the irons.
Return to the February 27 issue of Wire to Wire
