Cliff Hanger a toss-up between Glenard, Middleburg
Glenard and Middleburg, a pair of 5-year-old turf runners who are in the best form of their careers, will meet in the Grade 3, $100,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday.
Glenard, trained by Graham Motion, has won his last two races. Middleburg, trained by Christophe Clement, has finished second twice in a row while facing better company than Glenard. Separating the two in this 1 1/8-mile turf race is not easy.
Glenard won the $104,000 Warrior Veterans Stakes on the Indiana Derby undercard July 18. Prior to that, he won a high-level optional-claiming race at Delaware Park. He rode the rail to victory in both races.
Glenard showed a strong turn of foot in his Delaware victory. He was a bit more workmanlike at Indiana Grand, but the Warrior Veterans was run over a soggy course listed as yielding. Although both wins were solid, the competition he faced is suspect. Thatcher Street, the runner-up in Indiana, is 2 for 15 lifetime. The third-place finisher, Scotland Forever, is 3 for 26.
The second- and third-place runners at Delaware Park were the 3-for-22 Fredericksburg and the 5-for-32 Tetradrachm.
Middleburg was second-best in the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap when beaten three-quarters of a length by Quiet Force. Two starts back in the Grade 2 Monmouth Stakes, he lost a head bob to the talented Triple Threat, who was making his U.S. debut for trainer Bill Mott.
Both Quiet Force and Triple Threat ran in last weekend’s Arlington Million, finishing 10th and 11th.
◗ The seventh race is a loaded six-furlong maiden race for 2-year-olds that brings together Bolster, a $560,000 Keeneland yearling buy who will debut for Lael Stables and Arnaud Delacour, and Entertainer, who ran well in his debut to be second behind the quick Full Salute.
The 12-horse field also includes two first-time starters from the Todd Pletcher barn; a debut runner for Jamie Ness who enters off two bullet works at Delaware Park; and a Motion first-timer who runs for Cash Is King Stables, which raced the colt’s sire, Afleet Alex.
Ness, who is second in the Monmouth trainer standings with 23 wins from 66 starts (35 percent), won with a 2-year-old first-time starter at Delaware on Wednesday.
Cliff Hanger, race 11
Key contenders
Middleburg (Last 3 Beyers: 98-99-97)
◗ Holds a slight Beyer Speed Figure advantage over Glenard.
◗ It is a bit troubling that from 15 starts, he has seven seconds but only four wins.
Glenard (Last 3 Beyers: 94-94-36)
◗ He should be able to get to the outside in this six-horse field and might have an easier trip than he had in his two rail-skimming victories.
Inchcape (Last 3 Beyers: 94-96-88)
◗ Trained by Jason Servis, he looks to have the best early speed in this field and might be able to control the tempo to his advantage.