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Sarah Sis, Promise Me Silver face off in Honeybee

Promise Me Silver just got the best of Sarah Sis in the Dixie Belle (Oaklawn Park/Coady Photography) With champion Take Charge Brandi's (Giant's Causeway) connections opting for the $750,000 Rebel S. (G2) on March 14, the big draws in Saturday's $150,000 Honeybee S. (G3) at Oaklawn Park are Sarah Sis (Sharp Humor) and Promise Me Silver (Silver City). A field of nine has been entered to go 1 1/16 miles in the Honeybee, which is part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series of races that award points toward a starting berth in the Run for the Lillies on May 1 at Churchill Downs. The Honeybee will give the winner 50 points, second-place receives 20, third earns 10 and fourth-place gets five. Sarah Sis and Promise Me Silver have already met up once, with the latter taking the six-furlong Dixie Belle S. on January 15 by just a neck over her rival. That occurred at Oaklawn, Promise Me Silver's fifth different track in as many starts. The unbeaten Bret Calhoun pupil then shipped to Sam Houston for a 9 3/4-length victory in the February 14 Two Altazano S. last out. Promise Me Silver will put her perfect six-for-six mark on the line in the Honeybee while breaking from the far outside 9 post. Jockey Cliff Berry has been aboard the gray miss in four of her races and takes the mount on Saturday.

Sarah Sis boasts two wins and three seconds from five lifetime starts for trainer Ingrid Mason. The dark bay lass took her maiden and an allowance but has yet to break through against stakes rivals. However, she was close in her past two against Promise Me Silver in the Dixie Belle and Take Charge Brandi in the Martha Washington S. In that latter contest the Kentucky-bred miss rallied to just miss by a head on the wire in the one-mile race, and keeps Julio Felix aboard here.

Four of the remaining seven entrants on Saturday have never competed against stakes company, with the other three placing.

Pangburn (Congrats) finished second in last fall's Pocahontas S. (G2) under the Twin Spires, and just returned off that September 6 event to take an allowance over track and distance on February 20 for trainer Kenny McPeek. Jesus Castanon has the call.

Super Saks (Sky Mesa) dropped two of her initial three starts by double-digit lengths and failed to finish in the other last year. The D. Wayne Lukas trainee obviously turned a corner over the winter because she made her sophomore bow a nice third in the Dixie Belle before breaking her maiden 15 days later by 11 lengths. Terry Thompson rides as the gray filly returns to stakes company in this spot.

Indian Annie (Indian Charlie) was making just her second start for new trainer Steve Asmussen when finishing third in the Martha Washington, and gets Ricardo Santana Jr. back in the irons for this one.

Desert Valley (Desert Party), Bootsy's Girl (Summer Bird) and Purr (Bluegrass Cat) all enter the Honeybee as maiden winners, while Oceanwave (Harlan's Holiday) did one better than those when taking an allowance/optional claimer on January 22.

Two races before the Honeybee a field of seven will sprint six furlongs in the $100,000 Hot Springs S., including Gentlemen's Bet (Half Ours) and Ivan Fallunovalot (Valid Expectations). The former just returned to be third off a 15-month break that last saw him run third in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) while the latter posted a 2 3/4-length score in the King Cotton S., both over track and distance.

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