Bettors have plenty of warmup action before Haskell
OCEANPORT, N.J. – The Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday will be immediately preceded by four other stakes races.
The Haskell, race 12, will be the last leg of a pick four that has a $400,000-guaranteed pool. The late pick four has handled more than $600,000 in each of the last two years, when the Haskell was won by American Pharoah and Bayern.
There also will be a $100,000-guaranteed pick five on the final five races on the card, races 10-14.
The four undercard stakes, which begin on race 8, are the Grade 2 Monmouth Cup, the Grade 3 Oceanport, the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher, and the Grade 3 Matchmaker.
Bradester, winner of the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs in June, will be making his third consecutive appearance in the Monmouth Cup, a race he won in 2015 and finished second in two years ago.
Bradester figures to be a solid favorite over five rivals in the one-mile race, which may be why it has been excluded from the late pick four. Bradester, who is trained by Eddie Kenneally, has made six starts at Monmouth, and has three local wins and three seconds.
“We were looking at this and the Whitney,” Kenneally said. “The main thing is the horse loves the Monmouth track.”
The 1 1/8-mile Foster was the first Grade 1 win for Bradester, a 6-year-old son of Lion Heart. Although he proved he can go nine furlongs, he is ideally suited for the mile distance of the Monmouth Cup. Bradester is stabled at Saratoga this summer.
“He’s come out of the Foster real good,” Kenneally said. “He’s had a few good works. He’s very fit.”
Joe Bravo, who was aboard for the Foster, will ride again Sunday.
Bradester’s main challenge figures to come from Encryption, who is based at Monmouth with trainer Kelly Breen. Encryption most recently outbattled Majestic Affair to win the Turning for Home Stakes at Parx Racing under jockey Nik Juarez, who will be back aboard in the Cup.
Oceanport
The $150,000 Oceanport, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up, has a field of eight. It rematches Blacktype, Almasty, and Kharafa, who finished first, second, and sixth in a high-level optional-claiming race at Belmont Park on July 3.
Blacktype, trained by Christophe Clement, upset favored Almasty, who is trained by Brad Cox, by 1 1/4 lengths.
Not to be overlooked in the Oceanport is Captain Dixie, a $35,000 claim by trainer Jamie Ness in March who finished a close fourth in the Grade 2 Dixie at Pimlico on Preakness Day. The Dixie was a hard-fought race run in light rain over a “good” course. Ness has given Captain Dixie three five-furlong works this month at Delaware Park in preparation for this race.
Winning Cause will make his first start since winning the Red Bank at Monmouth in May 2015 for Todd Pletcher.
Molly Pitcher
Grade 1 winner Birdatthewire could get a nice setup in the $100,000 Molly Pitcher, a 1 1/16-mile race that has attracted six fillies and mares.
Birdatthewire, trained by Dale Romans, will be stretching back out around two turns after three consecutive starts at seven furlongs. She may be able to work out a stalking trip behind front-runners Genre, trained by Todd Pletcher, and Super Majesty, conditioned by Steve Asmussen.
Birdatthewire notched her Grade 1 win last December in the La Brea, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita. She has won twice, however, at 1 1/16 miles.
Matchmaker
The $100,000 Matchmaker, a 1 1/8-mile turf race, has a full field of 12 fillies and mares.
In addition to purse money earned, the top three finishers in the Matchmaker will also receive a breeding to one of three WinStar Farm stallions – 2012 Haskell winner Paynter, who stood for $20,000 this year; Take Charge Indy, who stood for $17,500; or Fed Biz, who stood for $12,500.
Of the four horses in the field who last raced in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly at Woodbine, Heath merits special attention. Trained by Bill Mott, she didn’t break sharply in the Dance Smartly, raced far back early, then closed steadily in the stretch to finish fourth, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. If she hadn’t steadied in traffic in deep stretch she may have been second.
Nakuti, who finished third in the Dance Smartly for trainer Graham Motion, loomed dangerously that day and then just came up a little short late.
Sea Coast, who finished second to front-running Isabella Sings in the Grade 3 Eatontown at Monmouth last June, may go favored in the Matchmaker for Christophe Clement.
Bureau de Change, third in the Eatontown for trainer Brian Lynch, also is not without a chance in what is a key leg of both the pick four and pick five.