Monmouth Park: Silver Max takes Oceanport Stakes on front end
Silver Max was the dominant, front-running winner of the Grade 3, $170,000 Oceanport Stakes on turf at Monmouth Park on Sunday.
Mike FarrellJul 28, 2013
Silver Max was the dominant, front-running winner of the Grade 3, $170,000 Oceanport Stakes on turf at Monmouth Park on Sunday.
Bettors who gave up on Geeky Gorgeous certainly regretted it Sunday at Monmouth Park. Geeky Gorgeous, who hadn’t been higher than 8-1 in her last 11 starts, rallied from off the pace at 14-1 under Joe Bravo to win the $127,000 Regret Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths. She returned $30 to win.
Nikkis Smartypants ($19.60) won the front-end battle and the war in Sunday’s Grade 3, $175,500 Royal North Stakes at Woodbine.
Pants On Fire pulled a 7-1 upset in the Grade 2, $203,000 Monmouth Cup after odds-on favorite Take Charge Indy was pulled up entering the final turn.
Uptown Gal came from just off the pace to win the $75,000 Queen City Oaks at the River Downs at Beulah Park meet Sunday.
Elusive Kate defended her title and won the fourth Group 1 race of her career with a relatively easy victory in Sunday’s $396,000 Prix Rothschild at Deauville, France.
Hope springs eternal in the Thoroughbred business – particularly during yearling sales season, as potential owners arrive on the auction grounds with checkbooks at the ready, scrutinizing prospects in the hopes of spotting racing’s next superstar. But hand-in-hand with the pursuit of reward comes risk, particularly with young horses constantly exposed to new environments and experiences. And thus, many owners seek out insurance to protect themselves and their new purchases.
G.R. Carter Jr. has been named the recipient of the Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award, presented annually to a Quarter Horse jockey for his character on and off the racetrack.
When Larry Jones, the trainer of morning-line favorite Joyful Victory, heard that his main rival, Funny Proposition, was scratched from Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park, he had mixed emotions.
Monday’s Grade 2 Honorable Miss at Saratoga drew a field of seven older fillies and mares going six furlongs, three of them (including the two morning-line favorites) daughters of Speightstown. It is one of two graded stakes at the meet for sprinters in this division, leading to the Grade 1 Ballerina at seven furlongs Aug. 23.