Unbeaten Hot Rod Honey Stays Home for Scandalous Act

Faces Fellow Stakes Winner Liberty Rings in 2YO Filly Sprint

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Rather than testing his promising young filly in deeper waters just yet, trainer Carlos David is content to let Troy Johnson, Wendell Yates and Robert Fritts’ undefeated Hot Rod Honey be a big fish in a small pond for at least another race.

Hot Rod Honey, a decisive winner in each of her two starts, is the horse to beat again when she lines up against five rivals including fellow stakes winner Liberty Rings in Saturday’s $100,000 FHBPA Scandalous Act at Gulfstream Park.

The Scandalous Act for 2-year-old Florida-bred fillies sprinting six furlongs on the main track takes top billing as the Royal Palm Meet resumes with a 10-race program starting at 12:10 p.m.

Bred by the Estate of Brereton C. Jones, Hot Rod Honey is by Grade 1 winner Roadster, whose freshman class includes eight winners from 33 juvenile starters with 11 seconds, and the first foal out of the unraced mare Go Together. She fetched $27,000 at Keeneland’s November 2024 breeding stock sale.

Hot Rod Honey has won her two starts by 5 ½ combined lengths, each time coming from off the pace, the first as the favorite in a five-furlong maiden special weight against state-breds June 5 at Gulfstream. She stepped up to open company and stretched out to 5 ½ furlongs in the July 3 Sharp Susan, drawing off to a 4 ¼-length score as the 2-1 second choice.

“When you have these 2-year-old fillies, the goal is to stretch them out to see if they can get the two turns eventually to be able to participate in big events,” David said. “She’s stretching out a little bit after the Sharp Susan win. The way she positions herself in the race, it kind of fits her.”

The connections discussed taking Hot Rod Honey out of town following the Sharp Susan but instead opted to keep her in familiar surroundings.

“We had the option to go to Saratoga, but I feel like we want to do the right thing and stay here against state-breds and kind of build her confidence, and do it little by little,” David said. “I think she does have the talent, but it’s better to climb the steps. If she kind of takes us that way toward Keeneland in the fall, then that’ll be it. For right now we’re going to stay home and try to knock off these races.”

Leonel Reyes, up for the Sharp Susan, returns to ride from Post 4. Since the race Hot Rod Honey has posted two bullet half-mile workouts at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream’s satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, most recently going in 49.85 seconds Aug. 2, fastest of 20 horses. They are favored at 7-5 on the morning line.

“The last work wasn’t as fast as the one before. The track was a little bit dead that day,” David said. “The time before I had Leonel go breeze her and he was really happy with her. She breezed in [47.55]. She’s right on schedule. She’s healthy, and we’re looking forward to this race.”

So, too, is trainer Nicholas Palmer, who brings Teresa and David Palmer’s Liberty Rings (Post 5, Miguel Vasquez, 5-2) back to Gulfstream following a disappointing effort in the six-furlong Debutante June 28 at Churchill Downs, where she broke outwardly and was never in contention, finishing seventh.

“I really think that she just didn’t handle the track well. The track got a lot of rain, and it was kind of a blowout race. I don’t really think anyone ran well except for the winner,” Palmer said. “So, all things considered, I just wanted to get her home and get her back at her home track where she’s comfortable and she’s run two pretty decent races.”

Liberty Rings, by multiple Grade 3-winning millionaire Awesome Slew, ran third by a half-length in her debut, a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight April 19 at Gulfstream. Palmer put her on turf for the five-furlong Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies May 9, where she led all the way to win by 1 ¼ lengths and earn a berth at the Royal Ascot meet in June, which they declined.

“We’ve always been looking at the Florida-bred series. Once we got all the stakes information for the year, we kind of had some plans to kind of target some softer spots after Kentucky so this was always on the radar,” Palmer said. “I’m excited to get her back on dirt here and see how she handles it, because if she handles the dirt well then it opens up a whole plethora of doors. I hope to learn a few things about her.”

Vincente Stella Stables’ homebred Mon Coquette (Post 2, Samy Camacho, 2-1) will be making just her second start in the Scandalous Act. The Victor Barboza Jr. trainee led every step of the way in a 2 ½-length maiden special weight triumph against fellow state-breds sprinting five furlongs July 18 at Gulfstream over a main track rated good.

“I think the filly has good quality,” Barboza said. “The only concern for me is the filly only has the three weeks from her first race to the stake, but the race came up and the distance is perfect for my filly. She is a very good filly. I think she is ready for the race.”

Mon Coquette shares the same name as the legendary Venezuelan champion mare that beat both males and females and won numerous stakes between 1989 and 1993 including a record-setting victory over rival Stillwater in the 1990 Copa Confraternidad del Caribe.

The dam of Mon Coquette, Starcloud, won the Game Face and was second in the Azalea, both going seven furlongs, in 2018 at Gulfstream.

“In the morning workouts she has been breezing in front and breezing behind horses, so I’m not worried about if she doesn’t get the lead,” Barboza said. “We’re happy with her.”

Also entered are Arindel homebred Boots (Post 1, Jose Morelos, 10-1), fourth as the favorite in the Sharp Susan; Jeffrey Crooks and Amanda Dann’s maiden Jost a Chance Yadi (Post 3, Anthony Thomas, 20-1), winless with two thirds in five starts; and Cloud Nine Lumoni’s Colombina (Post 6, Diego Herrera, 8-1), second after setting the pace in the Sharp Susan.

Scandalous Act, bred and owned by the late Gil Campbell and trained by Kathleen O’Connell, was the fourth and most recent horse to sweep the Florida Sire Stakes Series for 2-year-old fillies with victories in the 2013 Desert Vixen, Susan’s Girl and My Dear Girl, competing in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). She was retired with four wins and one second from nine starts with $341,806 in purse earnings.