Back in Florida, Monster favored in Hollywood Beach Stakes
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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The well-traveled Monster is back at Gulfstream Park, where he figures to be the solid choice against eight other 2-year-olds going five furlongs on the turf, weather permitting, in Saturday’s $75,000 Hollywood Beach Stakes. For the speedy youngster, the race could serve as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Oct. 31 at Del Mar.
Monster has made four starts at four different tracks to launch his career, his lone victory coming locally in a gate-to-wire, nine-length maiden special weight win in his turf debut May 23. Monster, who finished far back launching his career racing on dirt at both Keeneland and Churchill Downs, was off nearly three months after earning his diploma before returning to finish second, beaten 1 3/4 lengths by Bobrovsky, when stretching to 5 1/2 furlongs for the first time in the Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga.
Monster, an Arindel homebred trained by Jose D’Angelo, has worked twice since the Skidmore, including a bullet five furlongs over the Oklahoma turf on Sept. 1 at Saratoga. There, he completed his final half-mile in 47.70 seconds before galloping out six panels in 1:14.66.
“We want to give him a chance to get to the Breeders’ Cup, and this looked like the best opportunity, going five furlongs over his home track,” Arindel president Brian Cohen said. “We thought he might have come up a bit short, having been off as long as he was and missing a work due to weather, prior to the Skidmore. I’m a bit concerned there is so much speed in this race, but I don’t think any are as fast as he is, and if he runs as well as he did the first time over this turf course, he should be okay.”
Monster could face his stiffest challenge from the Patrick Biancone-trained duo of Lennilu and Squire. Lennilu is one of two fillies in the field, along with the undefeated The Princess Bro.
The versatile Lennilu has won 3 of 4 career starts, including a pair of stakes – the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies on turf here May 10 and the Desert Vixen on the main track earlier this month. She sandwiched those two victories around a third-place finish in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot during the spring.
Squire finished second in the Royal Palm Juvenile, beaten just 1 1/2 lengths by Sandal’s Song, as the odds-on favorite in his only previous try on grass. He returned to dirt to finish a troubled fifth as the tepid favorite in the six-furlong Dr. Fager on Sept. 6.
The Princess Bro is one of four members of the Hollywood Beach lineup coming into the race off their maiden win, joining Zevi’s Zone, Timeless Victory, and Itza Lock, who, like Monster, is trained by D’Angelo.
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