Barbara Fritchie: Swayin to and Fro gives jockey Monterrey first graded win
LAUREL, Md. - Five years ago, Richard Monterrey sat on his couch at home. He was a retired jockey, weighed 150 pounds, and had lost his passion for horse racing.
On Saturday at Laurel Park, Monterrey notched his first graded stakes win as Swayin to and Fro captured the Grade 3, $250,000 Barbara Fritchie for fillies and mares at seven furlongs.
Swayin to and Fro broke sweetly and prompted Liscolvin through fractions of 22.44 and 45.20. Monterrey pushed the button turning into the stretch and Swayin to and Fro did the rest. She held off a troubled Fille d’Esprit to score by a half-length in 1:23.75.
Swayin to and Fro returned $14.40 to win as the fourth choice in the eight-horse field. Longshot Moody Woman finished 1 1/2 lengths back in third. She was followed by favored Pass the Champagne, Prodigy Doll, Quiet Imagination, Union Lake, and Liscolvin.
“She broke beautiful today,” Monterrey said. “I was expecting [Liscolvin] to go to the lead. “You got to let her do whatever she wants. If you want to take back, she’s going to get mad. If you want to send her and get her away from her pace, she kind of struggles. With her, you break, let her take her pace and take it from there.”
Monterrey, 38, endured a long climb back from retirement.
“The reason [for the retirement] was the struggle with the weight to the loss of the passion of the game,” Monterrey said. “You work so hard, you try to get opportunities that you don’t get. You start losing the dreams and I had to get away from the sport for a little bit.”
Monterrey returned to the saddle in 2021 with a rejuvenated mindset. Last fall, he rode Wicked Prankster to a gate-to-wire victory in the Maryland Million Turf.
“I’m having fun and am grateful for the trainers that are giving me the opportunity,” he said. “When you ride horses with love, you don’t care what kind of horse you ride. The opportunities are going to get there. And when you get there, you’re going to enjoy that.”
It’s been quite a journey for Swayin to and Fro as well. Last March, she prevailed in one of the Elloree Trial races in South Carolina. Now, she is the first horse bred in South Carolina to win a graded stakes.
Fille d’Esprit might have been best. She broke from the far outside post in the eight-horse field, then was maneuvered to the rail by jockey Xavier Perez while racing in midpack. Fille d’Esprit eased out to split rivals at the quarter pole, dove back to the inside in upper stretch, came out again to go after Swayin to and Fro inside the sixteenth pole, and charged at the winner late.
A 4-year-old by Straight Talking bred by Franklin Smith Jr., Swayin to and Fro has won 8 of 13 starts since being claimed for $16,000 by trainer Mario Serey Jr. and owner Baxter Racing Stable. She won three stakes in 2022 and finished second, beaten 5 1/4 lengths by Fille d’Esprit, in her seasonal debut, the What a Summer on Jan. 21.
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