Fabulous Strike 'ready to go'

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Fabulous Strike was primed and ready for the City Zip Stakes at Monmouth Park until Tropical Depression Ernesto intervened.

Heavy rain and wind washed out the card on Sept. 2 and forced trainer Todd Beattie into a fallback option: the $60,000 Restoration Stakes on Sunday, closing day at Monmouth.

The City Zip and the Restoration are both 3-year-old sprint stakes with one major difference: the Restoration is a grass race.

Fabulous Strike, a winner of 4 of 5 starts this year, will make his first turf appearance while racing for the first time since winning the Ziggy's Boy Stakes at Belmont Park on July 7.

"We are ready to go," Beattie said from Penn National. "Things are going good. We won't have any training excuses."

Fabulous Strike has been burning up the work tab in his five-furlong breezes. Three of his last four drills were bullet moves, the most recent 58.80 seconds on Tuesday at Penn National.

As for the lack of turf experience, Beattie points to the gelding's sire.

"He is by Smart Strike, and he is a very good turf sire," Beattie said.

There is no doubt Smart Enough will handle grass, if he runs. Smart Enough has also been entered in a $60,000 Handicap Saturday at Laurel.

Trained by John R.S. Fisher, Smart Enough has made five starts, all on turf. After debuting at Pimlico in April with a strong rally from far back that carried him from 10th to third, Smart Enough reeled off four straight wins, including stakes victories in his last two: the five-furlong Beau Genius Handicap at Churchill Downs and the one-mile Lamplighter Stakes at Monmouth.

Big Dealer will also make his grass debut, for trainer Eddie Broome. Big Dealer won New Jersey-bred allowances here in his last two races and runs in his first stakes.

Livermore Valley drops in Mongo Queen

The $65,000 Mongo Queen, the other closing-day stakes, drew a solid field of six 3-year-old fillies going six furlongs.

Livermore Valley makes her comeback here, having last run in the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga where she steadied in traffic before rallying to finish fifth.

She faces G City Gal, who has hit the board in her last three races, all Grade 3 stakes.

Stormin Gracie clinches title for Broome

Stormin Gracie won the eighth race Friday to clinch the leading owner title for Broome.

Joe Bravo had long ago clinched a 12th Monmouth riding title and Kelly Breen rolled to a second straight training title.

The win gave Broome 17 while runner-up Pat Generazio has 14 and only two horses entered over the final weekend.

It was the third owner title for Broome.

"It was a good year," he said. "Now we just have to carry it on to the Meadowlands."

The Meadowlands opens Friday for a 33-day meet. Broome has won eight titles at the Big M, four each as an owner and a trainer.