OCEANPORT, N.J. * Zayat Stables’s J Z Warrior took command at the start and was never threatened as she sped to a four-length victory in the $70,000 Dearly Precious Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday.
Also on Saturday, a new wager, the Sixty Minute Pick 6, made its debut and immediately guaranteed excitement for next Saturday when it produced a carryover result. The new wager, which started with a guaranteed pool of $100,000, attracted total betting of $114,627. Five of six winners returned $3,907.60, and a total of $64,477.55 will be carried over to next Saturday’s Sixty Minute Pick 6.
Irish Smoke, the second choice at 4-1, finished second to complete the $20.40 exacta, paying $4.80 and $3.20. D’Wild Ride, the longest shot on the board at 10-1 was third, returning $3.20 to show.
The winner, trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Joe Bravo, scored her first win this year in five starts. This was the first stakes victory for the 3-year-old daughter of Harlan’s Holiday.
Bravo put J Z Warrior on the lead soon after the start, and the filly clipped off fractions of :21 4/5 and :44 2/5 to discourage all her rivals and was being geared down at the wire.
“I’m just very happy to get to ride when Bill Mott sends a horse here,” Bravo said. “It makes my job very, very easy. All I had to do with this one was hold on. Anytime you have a sprint race you have to worry about the break, and she broke beautifully.”
