Quietside. (Coady Media)
Malibu Moon filly collected 50 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points for the victory
Robert Yates/Oaklawn Park
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A trip to Fair Grounds was just what the doctor ordered for Quietside, who returned to Arkansas, and the winner’s circle, in the $500,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles.
Although based at Oaklawn, trainer John Ortiz sent Quietside to Louisiana earlier this month to escape harsh winter weather in Arkansas that had disrupted the filly’s training. Quietside completed major preparations for the Honeybee with a blistering 5-furlong workout (:58.80) Feb. 16 under Jose Ortiz, who was also booked to ride her for the first time in the Honeybee, Oaklawn’s second of three Kentucky Oaks qualifying races.
Quietside was exiting a troubled second-place finish in Oaklawn’s first Kentucky Oaks qualifying race, the $300,000 Martha Washington Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 25.
Quietside ($22.40) was able to secure a forward position from post 12 in the Honeybee and pressed front-running Five G from the start. Quietside finally stuck her head in front on the outside in midstretch and edged Five G by one length. Muhimma, the 4-5 favorite, was keen early and finished another 3 ½ farther back in third in her 2025 debut.
Muhimma suffered her first loss in four lifetime starts. The winning time over a fast track was 1:43.63.
The Honeybee marked the first career stakes victory for Quietside, a homebred daughter of the late Malibu Moon for Arkansas lumberman John Ed Anthony, the winningest owner in Oaklawn history. The Honeybee was Anthony’s 39th career Oaklawn stakes victory, equaling the late John Franks’ Oaklawn record. The Honeybee was Quietside’s first career stakes score.
Quietside collected 50 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points for the victory, her second in six lifetime starts, and raised her career earnings to $552,200. Quietside tops the leaderboard for the Kentucky Oaks, the country’s biggest race for 3-year-old fillies, with 68 points.
HONEYBEE QUOTES
Winning jockey Jose Ortiz (Quietside): “Worked very good at the Fair Grounds. All the credit goes to Johnny (Ortiz). He took her over there just to get a work in her. The track here had been a little bit messy. I knew what I was riding. I liked her when I worked her. I rode her with a lot of confidence. I broke and made an early move to the first turn because I wanted to get a forward position. She was travelling good (on the second turn). I was waiting for the right moment to make my move. When I did it, she was there for me.”
Winning trainer Johnny Ortiz (Quietside): “We had a lot of plans with this filly. We wanted to be very strategical with the training, due to the weather. It hasn’t helped us a lot. It’s one of the worst winters we’ve seen around the nation. We came up with a plan to get her down south (Fair Grounds). Mr. John Ed (Anthony) wanted us to train down there. Got a work in her. Perfect trip. Got the job done.”
Hear from trainer @johnnyortiz24 after Quietside's win in the G3 Honeybee! pic.twitter.com/zJo382DMno
— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) February 23, 2025
Third-place jockey Florent Geroux (Muhimma): “The horse was a little bit difficult the first quarter of a mile. Took me a little longer than I wanted to get her to settle. But after that, I really loved my trip. On the backside, I was sitting third, perfect, letting those horses go. They went very honest fractions. I thought I was going to run them down, but I just couldn’t.”
Fourth-place trainer Norm Casse (Necessity): “I’m very happy with that. The way that the track’s playing, she ran the race that I thought she could run. I’m happy with that.”
