Almanaar sparkles to win Monmouth Stakes in first start since May 2019

Almanaar was making his first start since May 2019 as he lined up for the Grade 3, $150,000 Monmouth Stakes. However, his back class and his form over the course made him the favorite for the race, and he delivered with a victory on Saturday at the Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet.

Shadwell homebred Almanaar ($5), an 8-year-old gelded son of international supersire Dubawi, began his career in Europe, winning the Prix Paul de Moussac and Prix Daphnis, both Group 3 events, as a 3-year-old. He came into Chad Brown's care in the U.S. for the 2016 season, and won the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in early 2017.

In 2018, he was second, beaten less than a length, in the Grade 1 Arlington Million. His most recent appearance prior to Saturday's race came in the 2019 edition of the Monmouth Stakes, then a Grade 2 event held in May, as the coronavirus pandemic shuffled this season's racing calendar. He won that edition by a neck, running the 1 1/8 miles in 1:45.75, a course record for the distance with that particular rail placement.

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Despite the layoff, his back class and his form over the course made Almanaar ($5) the favorite for this edition of the Monmouth.

Almanaar was unhurried early under Joe Bravo, but was never far off a moderate pace. The gelding sat in eighth in the field of nine, but less than three lengths back, as Compound It led the field through an opening half in 48.82 seconds and six furlongs in 1:12.93 with second choice Mr. Alec on his hip. Turning for home, the veteran campaigner Bal Harbour pounced on the leaders from his stalking position, but was quickly confronted by Serve the King, also trained by Brown, who briefly took the lead. But Almanaar rushed four wide down the course with an authoritative run to sweep by for a length victory. He finished in 1:49.22.

“He has been training well at Belmont the whole time," Brown's assistant Luis Cabrera told Monmouth publicity. "The guys there really like the way he has been training. So he has been doing well. These type of horses know what to do. They know where the wire is. So you don’t worry about the layoff with those types. And he has a lot of class."

Serve the King was second by 2 1/4 lengths over Bal Harbour. The latter was recording his fourth consecutive third-place finish in a graded stakes race in New Jersey this season. They were followed by Megacity, Sand Dancer, Changi, Mr. Alex, Fearsome, and Compound It.