Halina’s Forte springs $50 surprise in Honorable Miss

Just beaten at odds-on in her June reappearance at Prairie Meadows, Halina’s Forte was totally overlooked as a 24-1 shot on the class hike in Sunday’s $200,000 Honorable Miss (G2) at Saratoga. But the Rigney Racing runner raised her game to overhaul pacesetting R Disaster, leaving 1.25-1 favorite Scylla churning belatedly in third on the sloppy track.

Halina’s Forte had questions to answer at this level. Her best previous graded result was a distant third in last summer’s Victory Ride (G3) at Aqueduct. Moreover, in her 2024 finale, she was third in the Cheryl S. White Memorial at Mahoning Valley to Honorable Miss rival Benedetta. 

Yet Halina’s Forte could boast a stakes win in her only prior start at the Spa – the off-the-turf Galway S. nearly a year ago. Her affinity for the track, combined with progression in her second start off the bench, propelled her to a new career high.

“This filly, she surprised me in Prairie Meadows that she didn't get the job done,” trainer Phil Bauer said, “but you give her the benefit of the doubt coming off the layoff, and she just kept drilling coming into this one. That was the goal bringing her back. We're just going to swing at graded black type because her resume is already good enough everywhere else; we just need to add to it.”

Under a well-judged ride by Irad Ortiz Jr., who was also aboard for last year’s Galway, Halina’s Forte broke sharply on the rail. The speedy R Disaster was drawn right next door in post 2, however, and Ortiz wisely opted to ease back rather than get in an early duel. 

After R Disaster rattled off an opening quarter in :21.72, the stalking Striker Has Dial drew nearer through the half in :44.50. Halina’s Forte likewise began to advance, but on the rail, and she loomed as an ever-increasing threat down the lane.

Although R Disaster spurted away from Striker Has Dial, she could not contain the ground-saving rally of Halina’s Forte. Driving to a half-length decision, the daughter of champion sprinter Mitole clocked six furlongs in 1:09.87.

Scylla had not raced over this short a trip since her career debut in the spring of 2023 at Keeneland. The Juddmonte homebred appeared to find it a bit sharp, although the slop might not have helped her cause either. The Tapit mare out of champion Close Hatches was last early but stayed on for third, another 1 1/2 lengths adrift of R Disaster.

Jody’s Pride chased out wide before tiring in fourth. Next came Striker Has Dial, Benedetta, Carmelina, and the winner’s stablemate Little Prankster.

“Just last year, when I rode her (in the Galway), it was the same surface, I think they sealed it,” Ortiz said. “Small field, but not a lot of trouble in the end, stayed inside, and she was game. I got the one hole. There was a lot of speed in the race, so I was hoping to break good and then bide my time from there. 

“If I can stay on the rail, that would be beautiful if I can get through, because I know she can do that. It worked out beautiful, we got the rail open – I got horse, moving great, so I go for it, and she worked the other day on this same track, same surface. Phil worked her just in case she liked it, so we worked her, and she worked great, and it worked out beautiful. Look how the track is today. They sealed it, and she liked it.”

Halina’s Forte rewarded her loyalists with a $50 payout while enhancing her record to 14-6-3-2, $526,450. Three of those wins have come in stakes, including the Ruthless S. in her sophomore bow at Aqueduct along with her two at Saratoga. The bay had placed in a pair of stakes as a juvenile, the 2023 Fern Creek S. at Churchill Downs and the Letellier Memorial at Fair Grounds, and she added another runner-up effort in the June 6 Prairie Rose S. in her latest.  

The Honorable Miss serves as a stepping stone to the Aug. 23 Ballerina (G1), a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). The competition would be even stiffer in that seven-furlong event on Travers Day, with Grade 1 star Ways and Means expected to line up. 

“You have Ways and Means sitting out there, but if she continues to move forward, we might consider it,” Bauer said of a potential Ballerina tilt.

Halina’s Forte was bred in Florida by the partnership of Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, who campaigned sire Mitole, and A.F. and B. Vanlangendonck. Her dam, the stakes-winning Yes It’s True mare Lunarlady, is a half-sister to Grade 3 scorers Astrology and Lunarpal. Lunarlady is also a full sister to stakes vixen Lunargal, herself the ancestress of Grade 3-winning sprinter Mighty Mischief.