Beach Daze, Riding Pretty meet again for Smart N Classy rematch

A neck separated Beach Daze and Riding Pretty in the Smart N Classy Handicap last year, and they meet again in this year’s Smart N Classy on Sunday at Monmouth Park.

The Smart N Classy, for older New Jersey-bred fillies and mares, drew a field of six. Beach Daze, the narrow winner of last year’s renewal, is the 124-pound highweight and gives three pounds – more than she should – to Riding Pretty.

Carded for one mile, the Smart N Classy is the only two-turn dirt stakes for older New Jersey-bred females run during the Monmouth season, which makes it especially important for Beach Daze. Based at Parx Racing with trainer Farrel Mann, Beach Daze is not a turf horse, and while she’s not hapless sprinting, the mare excels at routes and is 4-2-1 from eight starts at or about Sunday’s distance.

A 5-year-old by Blofeld, Beach Daze will rate as a success whatever she accomplishes the rest of her career. Her current connections, Mann and owners All In Racing Stable and JPS Stable, claimed Beach Daze for a mere $10,000 out of her second start in November 2021. She has since won seven races and banked nearly $360,000, and on Beyer Speed Figures, at least, has never been better.

Away from racing the for better part of three months over the winter, Beach Daze returned Feb. 28 at Parx. She made two sprints before getting out to one mile on April 22, her most recent race, when she won a second-level allowance by 1 1/2 lengths with a career-best 88 Beyer. Mann has worked the mare only once since that race, and Beach Daze figures to come to Monmouth still fresh.

Riding Pretty has more opportunities than Beach Daze because she carries her form from dirt to turf. Her last four starts have come on turf or Tapeta, though Riding Pretty has enough dirt ability that she finished a creditable fourth in the Grade 2 Beldame at Aqueduct last fall. Riding Pretty, trained for Holly Crest Farm by Eddie Owens, has been racing for a year without any appreciable break, but seems none the worse for it. She made her most recent start on April 21, and at age 4, Riding Pretty ought to have greater upside than Beach Daze.

Riding Pretty has less speed than her primary rival and is more pace dependent, but the Smart N Classy fractions should be lively enough. Mia’s Crusade is one of several stretch-out sprinters, and while she ranks as a leading New Jersey-bred mare, her strength lies in sprints. She was third in this race last year and second in 2022 and is unlikely to beat both the top two contenders Sunday.