Bayerness cuts back in Regret Stakes
Cherie DeVaux won the first stakes of her training career in the Regret on May 29 at Churchill Downs, and she can win her second in the Regret on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
Churchill’s version of the Regret, won by the DeVaux-trained Gam’s Mission, is a two-turn turf race, Monmouth’s a six-furlong dirt sprint. DeVaux entered Bayerness, and Bayerness looks pretty good dropping in class from the Grade 3 Bed o’ Roses into this $75,000 contest.
Bayerness is 2 for 2 going six furlongs, scoring a debut win at Keeneland and beating second-level allowance foes in her first start in nearly eight months on April 24 at Churchill. Paco Lopez, whose 20 wins during June topped the Monmouth jockey colony, rides Bayerness, whose stalking style should play well breaking from the far outside post in a seven-horse field. Bayerness lost some ground from the stretch call to the finish in the seven-furlong Bed o’ Roses – won by the underrated Estilo Talentoso – and might benefit from cutting back to this sharper trip Saturday.
Six-year-old Bronx Beauty is 4-2-0 in six Monmouth dirt starts, and among her local wins are the last two renewals of the Regret. Bayerness might be a more formidable foe than she beat in last year’s race, but Bronx Beauty had a useful comeback run finishing second in the Politely Stakes on May 30 over a five-furlong distance that is short of her best. If Bayerness can’t maintain her current form, Bronx Beauty could be the one to step forward, provided Honey I’m Good doesn’t wire the Regret.
Honey I’m Good is all but certain to improve upon her Monmouth debut, a well-beaten sixth May 30 in the Politely, which was scheduled for turf but rained onto a sloppy track. Trainer Steve Asmussen’s Monmouth string has been slow out of the gate this meet. Honey I’m Good is part of that trend, but she was hooked into a contested pace in the Politely and could shake loose on the lead in the Regret. Loose on the lead last June, Honey I’m Good wired the $80,000 Harmony Lodge at Belmont, though she has raced only twice in the subsequent 13 months.
Trainer Shug McGaughey already shipped from New York to win Monmouth’s Eatontown with Vigilantes Way and tries Alandra in the Regret. Alandra never lifted her hooves in the sloppy-track Bed o’ Roses, basically eased across the wire, but her two prior races were far better and she’s mildly interesting cutting back to six furlongs for the first time in six races.
Sonar brings sharp form shipping from Florida and isn’t impossible. She’smysunshine would need a career-best performance to factor, Oceano Rosso a one-furlong head start.