Capeside Lady romps in muddy Monmouth Oaks

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Hurricane Charley brushed the Jersey Shore Sunday morning, doing little damage other than dumping considerable rain.

That precipitation was a decisive factor in the Grade 2, $200,000 for 3-year-old fillies that afternoon as Capeside Lady romped to a 6 1/2 length victory in the mud.

Capeside Lady, trained by Todd Pletcher, thrives on a wet track. The victory improved her record to four wins in five "off" track starts.

Capeside Lady ($5.40) ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.18 for her first graded stakes victory.

The New York-bred won her previous race, Monmouth's Little Silver Stakes, by 13 1/2 lengths in the slop. This was a considerable class hike but Capeside Lady made it look easy.

The outcome was never in doubt turning for home. Capeside Lady, with Chris DeCarlo aboard, set the fractions and dictated a moderate pace to five rivals.

Capeside Lady cut the final bend sharply and immediately sprinted away a three-length advantage.

DeCarlo spanked her only twice in the stretch as Capeside Lady left the competition spinning their wheels in the muck.

"At the quarter pole, she really accelerated," said DeCarlo. "She finished stronger today. I just chirped to her and she switched leads and just took off."

Hopelessly Devoted, last in the early stages, rallied to get second.

Habiboo, an impressive winner of consecutive races at Monmouth, got third in her stakes debut.

Ender's Sister, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks, took the bulk of the money as the even-money favorite. She made a push into second on the final turn before leveling out to finish fourth.

"I was in good position," said jockey Cornelio Velasquez. "At the five-eighths pole I started to put pressure on the leader but she wasn't handling the track. She didn't run very well at all."