American Monarch should have an easier time than in his comeback race
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – American Monarch caught a sloppy track and a buzz saw named Happy Medium when he ran third in a Nov. 13 allowance race at Aqueduct, his first start on dirt and first in 13 months.
Happy Medium is likely moving on to stakes company, and Aqueduct’s main track should be fast when American Monarch makes his next start in Friday’s first-level allowance feature at 6 1/2 furlongs.
American Monarch, a son of American Pharoah trained by Bill Mott, made his first three starts, all on turf, last year. He was a debut winner at Saratoga before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine and last in the Grade 2 Pilgrim at Belmont. He came out of the Pilgrim needing time off.
“He just wasn’t performing well, he got turned out. Sometimes they need a break,” said Leana Willaford, New York-based assistant to trainer Bill Mott.
In his first start since the Pilgrim, American Monarch chased the pace from the inside. He was guided off the rail in the stretch but could not match strides with Happy Medium or Risk Profile, the latter finishing a length in front of American Monarch. Risk Profile is among American Monarch’s rivals on Friday.
“His first race was good and he’s worked well since,” Willaford said. “He looks fantastic physically, like a different horse from last year. I think he’ll run well.”
Jose Ortiz rides American Monarch from post 11.
Linda Rice claimed Risk Profile for $40,000 out of a third-place finish in Saratoga on Sept. 3. Rice wheeled him back 15 days later in a starter allowance, with Risk Profile overcoming a rough start to win by a neck. In two starts in this condition, Risk Profile has a third and a second.
Jose Lezcano rides Risk Profile from post 7.
The New York-bred Bustin Shout came off a 10-month layoff to run fifth, beaten two lengths, in a turf allowance on Nov. 20. Scuttlebuzz, who won that race, came back to win here Saturday with a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure.
Trainer Bruce Levine said it was with this race in mind that he ran Bustin Shout in that Nov. 20 turf race to help get the gelding fit as the horse doesn’t give everything in the morning.
“He’s a stout horse and I thought he handles the grass, let me run there, it shouldn’t take as much out of him,” Levine said. “They bounce back faster, and I knew this race was coming back in three weeks and I didn’t want to miss it.”
Bustin Shout has won going turf to dirt in the past, has run two solid races against open company, and is 3 for 3 from the rail, the post from where he starts Friday under Trevor McCarthy.
Siena Magic returns from a near 10-month layoff for Bob Dunham. Siena Magic has a 3-3-0 record from seven starts at Aqueduct.
Repo Rocks, Send the Word, and Anything Pazible are other contenders in the 11-horse field.