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Honor Way battles returning Alisio in $80K Pumpkin Pie

by Keith McCalmont

Honor Way battles returning Alisio in $80K Pumpkin PieSaul J. Kupferberg's graded-stakes placed Honor Way squares off with promising Godolphin homebred Alisio in Sunday's $80,000 Pumpkin Pie, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

The Pumpkin Pie co-headlines Sunday's nine-race card along with the $80,000 Chelsey Flower, a 1 1/16-mile turf route for juvenile fillies on Closing Day of the 27-day Belmont fall meet.

Honor Way, who sports a record of 39-11-8-7 with purse earnings of $578,892, enters from a closing second to Breeders' Cup Sprint-bound Frank's Rockette in the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom, in which the 6-year-old Caleb's Posse mare lunged at the start.

The hard-trying bay raced on 10 days rest in the Gallant Bloom following a runner-up effort in an optional-claiming sprint at Parx.

"She ran surprisingly good last time because she was coming off a short turnaround from her race at Parx," said trainer Charlie Baker. "I went back in that race because it was coming up a short field and she had a chance to get graded black type. She really deserved that with the way that she's run right through her career."

Bred in Kentucky by Candy Meadows, Honor Way is enjoying a strong 2020 campaign with a record of 2-3-2 from eight starts, including optional-claiming sprint scores on June 14 at Belmont and an impressive four-length romp on August 7 at Saratoga Race Course.

Baker claimed Honor Way for $62,500 from a winning effort in a June 2019 sprint to become the eighth trainer of record for the valiant mare.

"She's a horse that tries hard every time, whether she wins or not," said Baker. "She almost always hits the board and she's done good for everyone who has had her in her career. She's a hard-trying filly who gives in her heart every time she comes over there."

Honor Way posted a bullet half-mile breeze in 47.58 on October 19 on Big Sandy and followed on Saturday with another sharp four-furlong effort in 48.32 on Belmont's dirt training track.

Baker said the swift works are a sign Honor Way is in fine fettle.

"When she's doing good, she can go fast," said Baker. "I normally try to keep her slow but she's feeling good. The last work was a little quicker than we wanted it to be, but she came out of it good.

"She's had enough time now since her last race," he added. "She's training great towards this race."

Leading rider Jose Ortiz, aboard for both wins and the last-out second, retains the mount from post 4.

Alisio earned a career and field-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure last out when romping to a 13 ¼-length score in an optional-claiming sprint for former trainer Kiaran McLaughlin at Aqueduct Racetrack on December 30.

By Ghostzapper and out of the A.P. Indy mare Sahara Wind, Alisio boasts a record of 8-3-3-1 and was supplemented into her stakes debut off a significant layoff with a strong foundation of works at Belmont Park for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

"She had taken some time off and there aren't very many easy spots to come back in," said Godolphin USA president Jimmy Bell. "She's trained well and is coming back well."

Jose Lezcano, up for the last-out romp, has the call from post 3.

Never Enough Time and Bronx Beauty, the one-two finishers of last month's Skipat at Pimlico Race Course, will make the trek to Belmont.

R.L. Johnson's Maryland-homebred Never Enough Time, trained by Michael Trombetta, has won three of her last four starts. The 4-year-old Munnings bay captured the six-furlong Alma North on September 5 at Laurel ahead of her frontrunning three-quarter length score in the six-furlong Skipat.

Luis Saez picks up the mount from post 6.

Richard T. Woll's multiple stakes winning Pennsylvania-bred Bronx Beauty, trained by Anthony Margotta, Jr., has won 10-of-23 career starts. The Liaison gray won the six-furlong Regret by 4 ¼-lengths on September 13 at Monmouth Park ahead of a stalking second in the Skipat.

Manny Franco will guide Bronx Beauty in her Belmont debut from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Pacific Gale [John Velazquez, post 2] and Gotham Gala [Javier Castellano, post 5].

The Pumpkin Pie is slated as Race 7 on Sunday's card which also features a mandatory payout of the Empire 6 beginning in Race 4 at 1:45 p.m. First post is 12:15 p.m. Eastern.

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