Thursday, August 14 2008

PARADISE TONIGHT CAPTURES FEATURE AT MONMOUTH

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Paradise Tonight stalked the pace until midstretch, and then turned on the speed to win Wednesday’s $41,000 allowance feature for fillies and mares by four lengths at Monmouth Park.

The winner, trained by Joe Pierce Jr. and ridden by Eddie Castro, stepped the one mile and 70 yards in 1:42 4/5 over the fast main track and paid $6, $2.80 and $2.20 across the board as second choice in the field of six.

GOTTCHA GOLD NEEDS TO STEP UP IN ISELIN REPEAT TRY

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Gottcha Gold comes into Saturday’s $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes off three straight losses and gets a new rider in Elvis Trujillo as he seeks a repeat victory in the Grade 3 event * Tickets for Saturday’s wine tasting and luncheon are still available at $75 each.

This has been a different year for Gottcha Gold, and not in a good way so far. Last year, the son of Coronado’s Quest caught some breaks and captured his first graded stakes, with victories in both the Salvator Mile (G3) and Philip H. Iselin Stakes (G3). He finished the 2007 season with a second in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Monday, August 11 2008

TRAVOLTA TAKES SUNDAY’S MY FRENCHMAN AT MONMOUTH

OCEANPORT, N.J. * La Marca Stable’s Travolta gained command midway on the turn before drawing off to a 4 ½ length score in the $60,000 My Frenchman Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday.

Ridden by David Cohen, Travolta covered the 5 ½ furlongs in 1:03 4/5 over the main track labeled “good.” The winner returned $5.40, $3.20 and $2.20 as the favorite and topped an $18 exacta. Museeb rallied up the inside to pay $4 to place and $2.20 to show. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Blue Sailor who returned $2.10 to show. A field of five contested the My Frenchman, which was transferred to the main track after afternoon showers.

Sunday, August 10 2008

MAREN’S MEADOW, $24, NEVER HEADED IN MONMOUTH OAKS UPSET

OCEANPORT, N.J. * River Ridge Ranch’s Maren’s Meadow looked like a winner every stride as she led from gate to wire to upset the $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3) at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

In the day’s co-feature, M J’s Enchanteur used similar front-running tactics to win the $70,000 Select Stakes.

Maren’s Meadow, trained by J. Larry Jones and ridden by Terry Thompson, hit the wire four and a half lengths in front of Acoma, who had four lengths on Whirling Bertie, the 8-5 favorite in the field of five 3-year-old fillies.

Monmouth Park Barn Notes for Saturday, August 9, 2008

SUNDAY’S MY FRENCHMAN COMES UP COMPETITIVE TURF SPRINT

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Our Friend Harvey, winner of the Wolf Hill and second in the McSorley last out, tops a competitive field in Sunday’s $60,000 My Frenchman Stakes on turf * Owner-trainer Amy Tarrant will point Kiss the Kid for the Aug. 16 Iselin Stakes, holding out Indy Wind for stakes later in the meet.

The $60,000 My Frenchman, third and last in the series of turf sprint stakes at Monmouth, will be run Sunday, and promises to be a highly competitive event.

Friday, August 08 2008

ADGER GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE IN MONMOUTH SPRINT VICTORY

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Mike Rutherford’s Adger made an impressive debut at Monmouth Park on Friday as he jumped into the lead from the gate and never looked back, scoring by two and a half lengths in the $37,000 maiden special event.

The winner, trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Joe Bravo, stopped the timer in 1:05 2/5 for the five and a half furlongs over a fast main track. He paid $14.60, $7 and $4.60 across the board and topped an $84 exacta.

Monmouth Park Barn Notes for Friday, August 8, 2008

A LOT TO LIKE ABOUT ACOMA IN MONMOUTH OAKS SATURDAY

OCEANPORT, N.J. * The well-bred Acoma drops back from a Grade 1 stakes try to contest Saturday’s $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3) * Rough Road Ahead returns to sprinting on the dirt in the $70,000 Select Stakes Saturday.

Acoma has a lot going for her in Saturday’s $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3). First, the 3-year-old filly is one of the best bred horses in America. Second, she comes into the mile and a sixteenth Oaks off a try against Grade 1 rivals in the CCA Oaks at Belmont. And third, she arrived at Monmouth on Thursday back at the peak of her powers.

Thursday, August 07 2008

ELECTRICITY CAPTURES MONMOUTH TURF FEATURE

OCEANPORT, N.J. * The Phipps Stable’s Electricity turned on the power in midstretch and charged to a three-quarters of a length score in Thursday’s $41,000 allowance feature on the Monmouth turf course.

The winner, trained by Shug McGaughey and ridden by Elvis Trujillo, raced the mile and a sixteenth over firm turf in 1:40 3/5 and paid $8.40, $4.20 and $3.60 across the board as second choice in the field of seven older horses.

Monmouth Park Barn Notes for Thursday, August 7, 2008

STREAKING WHIRLIE BERTIE TAKES A STEP UP IN OAKS SATURDAY

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Whirlie Bertie, unbeaten in three starts around two turns, tries graded stakes company for the first time in Saturday’s $150,000 Monmouth Oaks * Owner Martin L. Cherry and trainer Steve Margolis have another filly to watch in Northern Belle, who broke her maiden here Wednesday.

Rapidly improving 3-year-old fillies are always a treat to watch, and Whirlie Bertie promises to make Saturday’s $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3) an exciting event.

TOWNSHIP CAT WINS SPRINT FEATURE AT MONMOUTH

OCEANPORT, N.J. * New Farm’s Township Cat turned on the speed in midstretch and scored a one-length victory in the $41,000 allowance feature at Monmouth Park on Wednesday.

The winner, trained by Ben Perkins Jr. and ridden by Eddie Castro, stopped the timer in 1:10 3/5 for six furlongs over the fast main track.

Wednesday, August 06 2008

SPLENDID SOLUTION COULD STEP UP IN MONMOUTH OAKS

OCEANPORT, N.J. * Splendid Solution, who had an eye-catching breeze here Tuesday, is a possibility for Saturday’s 84th running of the $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3), trainer Chad Brown reports * Brown and his wife, Terrill, welcomed a new addition to the family Tuesday with the birth of a daughter * Eddie Broome is nearing the 1,000 career victory mark, entering Wednesday’s card with 996.

The $150,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3), which will be run for the 84th time on Saturday, has a rich history. It is the oldest Oaks run in America (first run in 1871, four years before the Kentucky Oaks), and its roster of winners includes six Hall of Fame fillies and 17 champions of the 19th and 20th Centuries. And this century, it’s been a highly entertaining race as well.

Tuesday, August 05 2008

BIG BROWN “LOOKS GREAT” FOLLOWING HASKELL SCORE

Oceanport, N.J. - Less than one day after winning North America's richest invitational, The Grade 1 $1 million Haskell Presented by Vonage at Monmouth Park, Big Brown "looks great", according to trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. Big Brown left Monmouth Park at approximately 10:15 this morning for a van ride back to his Aqueduct headquarters. It is unclear what lies ahead for the dual classic winner.

"We'll take a closer look at him later this afternoon and then worry about down the line", said Dutrow, who conditions the 3-year-old Boundary colt out of the Nureyev mare Mien. "Once we see how he came out of it, we'll start to look ahead."