Evening Jewel awaits Monrovia

Evening Jewel, like fellow divisional leader Blind Luck, was kept out of the opening-day La Brea Stakes, but she should be in action quite soon.

Trainer Jim Cassidy said Evening Jewel, who has had success on dirt, turf, and synthetic surfaces, will make her next start in the Grade 3, $100,000 Monrovia Stakes, scheduled for about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course on Jan. 2.

Cassidy said he looked past the La Brea in part because he thought the race was going to come up tough, and because Marilyn Braly, the owner of Evening Jewel, was planning a vacation. She will be back in time for the Monrovia.

“For a while it looked like Blind Luck and Tanda would run in that race, too,” Cassidy said. “We thought the Monrovia might be a better way to move her along to her next race.”